"Reminiscences of Saratoga"
compiled by Cornelius E. Durkee

But lest these "tavern" keepers should not be able to quench the thirst of Saratogians and their visitors the board also issued licenses to sell "by the gallon jug" etc. to the following grocerymen: Risley Taylor, Philo R. Waterbury, Turner Peterson, Peter Newman, Samuel Munger, Miles Beach, Washington Putnam, D. L. Palmer, Robert A. McDonald, Rockwell Putnam, John A. Waterbury, and John Boardman.

After granting these licenses, however, the board found plenty things in the village to require regulation. During that year ordinances were adopted restraining cattle from running at large, and forbidding horses and carriages from traveling on the sidewalks.

Still other ordinances required the frequent cleaning of slaughter houses, provided against fires by requiring ladders and buckets and compelled the inhabitants to bring fire buckets to fires; restrained immoderate driving on the streets of the village; restrained beggars and vagrants and imposed a tax on shows.

The next year, Dr. John H. Steel was president, and Miles Taylor was the village clerk. The board of trustees took the constitutional oath before John Eddy Justice. Again a number of tavern and grocers' licenses to sell liquor were issued and after Rockwell Putnam had been elected chief engineer and Samuel Chapman, assistant engineer of the fire department, the board found that its labors in making ordinances were not completed. For one thing there had evidently been some over-eagerness at fires and a by-law was adopted compelling obedience at fires.

It was decided to prohibit the tying of horses to shade trees and thereby protecting the bark. All slaughtering of animals and slaughter houses were prohibited within the village limits; and another ordinance prohibited entirely the running at large of all horses, cattle, sheep, swine, and geese, and providing for their impounding.

Dr. John Clark was authorized to purchase a fire engine for the village and $400 was appropriated for that purpose. A lot of ground was procured from Henry Walton for an engine house and Salmon Huling was employed to build an engine house 20 feet long by 16 feet wide for $125.

Joseph Bliven took the oath of office as village constable May 22, 1827. When this board went out of office it appeared that there had been raised from tavern licenses, dog taxes, shows and exhibitions and voluntary contributions for a fire engine $930.25 and expended $834.98, leaving a balance of $95.27.

The next board of which Dr. Steel was again president adopted a resolution allowing for all trees properly planted 62 1-2 cents to be reduced from the highway tax against the person planting trees.

No record appears of the meetings of 1829 but in 1830 the fire protection question was brought up and $500 was appropriated for another fire engine. The board offered a prize of $10 for the best plan to be adopted by the board for bringing the supply of water to the village.

A resolution was also adopted requiring the village constable to drive to the village pound, all cattle, horses, sheep, and swine running at large.

In 1892, the ordinance against the running at large of cattle was re-enacted but it was specified that cows were exempt until May 29. In this year a corporate pound was established and an additional lot of land was obtained from Judiah Ellsworth and added to the Putnam cemetery. Permission was also given the Saratoga and Schenectady Railroad Company to lay a track over the east part of Putnam Cemetery in exchange for the lot purchased of Judiah Ellsworth.