Ballston Spa is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

Saratoga County, New York Saratoga County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, and is the fastest-growing county in Upstate New York. As of the 2020 United States census, the county's population was enumerated at 235,509, ...

, United States, located southwest of Saratoga Springs. It is part of the Capital Region. The population of the village, named after Rev. Eliphalet Ball, a Congregationalist clergyman and an early settler, was 5,111 at the 2020 census. Ballston Spa lies on the border of two towns, situated partly in the Town of Ballston and partly in the Town of Milton. The Ballston Spa School District encompassing most of the combined towns of Milton, Malta, and Ballston is often referred to locally as ‘Ballston Spa’ with the village proper being referred to as ‘The Village’ or 'Town'.

History

The village was first settled in 1771. In 1787, Benajah Douglas, grandfather of 1860 presidential candidate Stephen A. Douglas, built the first tavern and hotel at Ballston Spa. It was located near the natural spring. In 1803, Ballston Spa's Sans Souci Hotel, at the time the largest hotel in the United States, was built by Nicholas Low. Presidents, Vice Presidents, Senators and Governors stayed there, as well as many wealthy private citizens. Ballston Spa was incorporated as a village in 1807. At different times, the village was served by four railroads: the Delaware and Hudson Railway, the Ballston Terminal Railroad, the Schenectady Railway Company, and the Hudson Valley Railway. The village was famous for its mineral water spring used for healing in sanatoria, including the Hawthorne and Lithia springs. The effervescent water, tonic, and cathartic from this city is also known as Ballston Spa. The liquid contains common

salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...

and

carbonate A carbonate is a salt of carbonic acid, (), characterized by the presence of the carbonate ion, a polyatomic ion with the formula . The word "carbonate" may also refer to a carbonate ester, an organic compound containing the carbonate group ...

s of

magnesium Magnesium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 ...

and

calcium Calcium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar to it ...

Movies, Music and Books

Portions of the novel '' The Last of the Mohicans'' were written by James Fenimore Cooper in the present day Brookside Museum and inspired by the local landscape. Buster Red, a Depression era folk singer, wrote in his song "When I Go Out" details about his trip through

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

and New York. According to the song it was in Ballston Spa that he was ultimately found out for some crime or deception, before moving on to Saratoga. The village was the model for the village of North Bath, NY, the setting for the 1993 best-selling novel and 1994 movie, '' Nobody's Fool''. The book's author, Richard Russo, is a native of nearby Gloversville. It was also the location of the fictional "Elspeth Hatch" murder trial defended by Clarence Darrow set in 1897 in the book titled '' The Angel of Darkness'' by author Caleb Carr. Several scenes in Sydney Pollack's 1973 film '' The Way We Were'' were filmed on Ballston Spa's Front Street. Scenes from '' The Horse Whisperer'' (1998) were also filmed in the village. Since 2008 Ballston Spa has been home to the ''Ballston Spa Film Festival'' of short films from around the globe. Ballston Spa was also mentioned in the 1963 novel The Tulip Tree by Howard Rigsby.

Museums

Ballston Spa is home to the National Bottle Museum. It is also home to Brookside Museum, Saratoga County Historical Society. The Brookside Museum, United States Post Office, Union Mill Complex, and Verbeck House are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

Industry

In 1838 the Ballston Spa National Bank, one of the oldest still functioning American

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

s, was founded. As of 2022, the Bank has 13 branches. George West (known as the "Paper Bag King") developed a line of square-bottomed paper bags, which he manufactured by the millions after the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, and at one time owned almost a dozen paper mills located along the Kayaderosseras Creek.''Lost Industries of the Kaydeross Valley'', Starr, 2007 The village was also home to the Ballston Knitting Company from 1918 to 1994. As the

of Saratoga County, county offices, courts, law enforcement, and the jail are major employers.

Government

Recent mayors of Ballston Spa: * Frank Rossi, II (Jr.) (2022–present) * Christine Fitzpatrick (2021–2022) * Larry Woolbright (2019–2021) * John Romano (1995–2019) * James Capasso Jr. (1991–95) * Bert Grandin (1983–91) * James Capasso Sr. (1971–83)

Notable people

* Stephen Steele Barlow, Attorney General of

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. * Scott Cherry, former

North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels (also Carolina Tar Heels) are the college sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to ...

player, High Point Panthers coach * Dick Doheny, racing driver * Abner Doubleday,

hero and supposed inventor of

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

, was born in Ballston Spa. The house he was born in is designated as a New York State landmark. DoubledayBirthplace

* General James Gordon, a veteran of the American Revolution, lived in Ballston Spa. Gordon Creek is named after him. * Trevor Marsicano, Olympic short-course speedskater, winning a silver medal in the Team Pursuit at the 2010 Games. * Ed Pompa, racing driver * Frances Shimer (1826–1901), founder and first president of

Shimer College Shimer Great Books School ( ) is a Classic_book#University_programs, Great Books college that is part of North Central College in Naperville, Illinois. Prior to 2017, Shimer was an independent, accredited college on the south side of Chicago, or ...

. * Ebby Thacher, Bill Wilson's (co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous) sponsor. * Ira Thomas (1881–1958), Major League Baseball player was born in Ballston Spa * Stephen Trombley, Emmy Award-winning film maker, author and musician, is a 1972 graduate of Ballston Spa High School. * Todd Waring, television and movie actor, 1973 graduate of Ballston Spa High School. * George West acquired ten paper mills situated along the Kayaderosseras Creek from 1862 to 1899 and became the largest manila paper manufacturer in the world. Also was a member of the New York State Assembly and the United States Congress.

Geography

Ballston Spa is located at (43.007185, -73.851168). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the village has a total area of , of which is land and 0.62% is water. New York State Route 50 (Milton Avenue), a north-south highway, passes through the village and intersects New York State Route 67 (West High Street). County Road 63 (Malta Avenue) leaves the village to the east, connecting it to U.S. Route 9 and Interstate 87 (The Northway).

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2020, there were 5,111 people, 2,291 households in the village. The population density was . There were 2,398 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 96.33%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 1.17%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.16% Native American, 0.52% Asian, 0.61% from other races, and 1.21% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 1.94% of the population. There were 2,267 households, out of which 32.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.9% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.9% were non-families. 32.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.94. In the village, the population was spread out, with 23.9% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 32.7% from 25 to 44, 18.7% from 45 to 64, and 16.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.2 males. The median income for a household in the village was $37,173, and the median income for a family was $49,387. Males had a median income of $36,929 versus $27,281 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the village was $20,237. About 7.4% of families and 10.6% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 16.8% of those under age 18 and 5.1% of those age 65 or over.

Schools

Public schools

* Milton Terrace South (closed summer 2013 also known as Gordon Creek Elementary School) * Milton Terrace Elementary School * Wood Road Elementary School * Malta Avenue Elementary School (Ballston Spa High School, 1900–1957) * Ballston Spa Middle School (Ballston Spa High School, 1957–1998) * Ballston Spa High School * Gordon Creek Elementary School (Opened 2013) Before the 2008-2009 school year, the arrangement of public schools was as follows: * Milton Terrace Primary School * Wood Road Intermediate School * Malta Avenue Intermediate School * Ballston Spa Middle School * Ballston Spa High School

Non-public schools

* St. Mary's is a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

school located in Ballston Spa, providing students with a Catholic education from preschool through 5th grade. * Spa Christian School is a small, private, non-denominational Christian school for children Pre-K to 6th grade. * The Church Mouse is a Christian preschool and pre-K.

Climate

This climatic region is typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Ballston Spa has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps.Climate Summary for Ballston Spa, New York
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References

Bibliography

External links

Ballston Spa, NY

Ballston Spa Business and Professional Association

Ballston Spa and Saratoga County: Industries, Railroads and Inventions
{{authority control Villages in New York (state) County seats in New York (state) Spa towns in New York (state) Villages in Saratoga County, New York 1771 establishments in the Province of New York