The Saratoga Springs History Museum in Saratoga Springs, New York, United States, is located inside the historic Canfield Casino. [1] The museum's collection focuses on the cultural history of Saratoga Springs. [2]
The Saratoga Springs History Museum was founded in October 1883 [3] as "The Historical Society of Saratoga, including the Upper Hudson, Lake George and Lake Champlain." The first president was Joseph William Drexel [4] The museum has been located in the Casino, built in 1870, since 1911 and is open to visitors year round. Its large collection of historical documents, photographs, artworks and objects relating to the history of Saratoga Springs is open to researchers and the general public. The museum's permanent collection is augmented by temporary exhibits.
The museum encompasses the Bolster Collection of historic photographs from the 19th and 20th centuries and the Walworth Memorial Museum, objects and records from the family of Reuben Hyde Walworth.
The George S. Bolster Collection [5] encompasses 375,000 negatives of photographs taken in and around the city of Saratoga Springs from 1855 to 1980 by a succession of commercial photographers. [6] About three-quarters of the collection is the work of 20th-century photographer George S. Bolster, with the rest culled from the work of Harry B. Settle, Jesse S. Wooley, Gustave Lorey, Seneca Ray Stoddard, C.C. Cook, and H.C. Ashby. [6]
The Beatrice Sweeney Archive contains thousands of documents and business records such as the Caffè Lena papers. [7]
The museum's holdings also include items from the George S. Batcheller Collection. [8] [9] George Sherman Batcheller (1837-1908) was a lawyer, diplomat, judge and politician whose career included serving in the New York State Assembly and as United States Ambassador to Portugal from 1890 to 1892. [10] His mansion overlooking Congress Park has been restored, [11] and some of his belongings are on display in the History Museum.
Seven rooms in the museum are devoted to the history of the Walworths, one of the most prominent families in 19th century New York. [12] Patriarch Reuben Hyde Walworth (1788–1867) [13] served as Chancellor of the State of New York from 1828 until the post was abolished in 1848. That same year he ran unsuccessfully for governor. His son Clarence Augustus Walworth (1820–1900) was a Catholic Redemptorist priest [14] and his daughter in law Ellen Hardin Walworth (1832–1915) [15] was a co-founder of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Many of the lectures and programs sponsored by the museum are archived on its YouTube channel. [16] Short videos about the museum and Saratoga Springs can also be viewed there.
Saratoga Springs is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 28,491 at the 2020 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area, which has made Saratoga a popular resort destination for over 200 years. It is home to the Saratoga Race Course, a thoroughbred horse racing track, and Saratoga Performing Arts Center, a music and dance venue. The city's official slogan is "Health, History, and Horses."
The Filson Historical Society, founded in 1884, is a privately supported historical society located at 1310 South 3rd Street in Louisville, Kentucky. The Filson is an organization dedicated to providing continuing adult education in the form of quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal, Ohio Valley History, a quarterly magazine, The Filson, weekly lectures, historical tours, and exhibits.
Canfield (US) or Demon (UK) is a patience or solitaire card game with a very low probability of winning. It is an English game first called Demon Patience and described as "the best game for one pack that has yet been invented". It was popularised in the United States in the early 20th century as a result of a story that casino owner Richard A. Canfield had turned it into a gambling game, although it may actually have been Klondike and not Demon that was played at his casino. As a result it became known as Canfield in the United States, while continuing to be called Demon Patience in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. It is closely related to Klondike, and is one of the most popular games of its type.
Reuben Hyde Walworth was an American lawyer, jurist and politician. Although nominated three times to the United States Supreme Court by President John Tyler in 1844, the U.S. Senate never attempted a confirmation vote. Known for his simplification of equity law in the United States, Walworth served as a chancery judge in New York for more than three decades, including nearly two decades as Chancellor of New York before a new state constitution abolished that highest statewide judicial office. Walworth also ran unsuccessfully for Governor of New York in 1848, and received a commission from the U.S. Supreme Court in 1850 concerning the Wheeling Suspension Bridge.
Richard Albert Canfield was a prominent American businessman and art collector involved in illegal gambling throughout the northeastern United States during the late 19th and early 20th century. Known as the "Prince of Gamblers", Canfield was one of the earliest to develop the modern day "resort casino". The solitaire game Canfield is named in his honor.
Canfield Casino and Congress Park is a 17-acre (6.9 ha) site in Saratoga Springs, New York, United States. It was formerly the site of the Congress Hotel, a large resort hotel, and the Congress Spring Bottling Plant, as well as Canfield Casino, which together brought Saratoga Springs international fame as a health spa and gambling site. At the peak of its popularity it was a place where the wealthy, major gamblers and stars of the entertainment world mingled. The park's artwork includes a statue by Daniel Chester French and landscape design by Frederick Law Olmsted, among others.
The Spirit of Life is a 1914 sculpture by American sculptor Daniel Chester French in Saratoga Springs, New York.
James Merrill Cook was an American businessman, banker and politician.
Union Avenue Historic District is a historic district in Saratoga Springs, New York. It was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
This article brings together lists of artists, locations, artistic productions and movements associated with upstate New York.
Ellen Hardin Walworth was an American author, lawyer, and activist who was a passionate advocate for the importance of studying history and historic preservation. Walworth was one of the founders of the Daughters of the American Revolution and was the organization's first secretary general. She was the first editor of the DAR's official magazine, American Monthly Magazine. In 1893, during a speech at the World's Columbian Exposition, Walworth was one of the first people to propose the establishment of the United States National Archives. Walworth was one of the first women in New York State to hold a position on a local board of education, a role that was frequently used to bolster the call for women's suffrage.
Clarence Augustus Walworth was an American attorney, writer, ordained Roman Catholic priest and missionary. Walworth was a well regarded writer who published numerous works related to the Roman Catholic Church.
Henry Walton (1768–1844) was a judge, early landowner, and hotel owner who played a significant role in the development of Saratoga Springs, New York in the early 1800s.
George Sherman Batcheller was an American soldier, politician, diplomat, and jurist.
George S. Bolster (1913–1989) was an American photographer from Saratoga Springs, New York. Bolster is noted as the creator of the George S. Bolster Collection of 375,000 negatives, chiefly from the Saratoga Springs area from the period 1855–1980, taken by himself and other photographers. The collection is now in the Saratoga Springs History Museum.
The Saratoga lake houses were a group of nightclubs operating in the vicinity of Lake Lonely on the east side of Saratoga Springs, New York from the 1920s until the early 1950s. They offered fine dining and top quality entertainment along with illegal liquor during prohibition and illegal gambling.
The following is a timeline of the history of Saratoga Springs, New York, USA
Udney Hay was an American deputy quartermaster general during the American Revolutionary War. He was later a politician in Vermont.
Greenridge Cemetery is a historic cemetery in Saratoga Springs, New York.
The Walworth family's history is told in: The Fall of the House of Walworth: A Tale of Madness and Murder in Gilded Age America by Geoffrey O'Brien, Henry Holt and Co., 2010 ( ISBN 978-0-8050-8115-2).