Saratoga County: Location & History

Saratoga County is located in the east-central part of New York State. It is surrounded by Washington, Rensselaer, Albany, Schenectady, Montgomery,

Fulton, Hamilton, and Warren Counties.
Saratoga County is highlighted in the map of New York. For an interactive map of Saratoga County, go to our map page.

In 1791, Saratoga County was taken from Albany County which had been established as one of the original New York counties in 1683. As described by Sylvester ¹ : "In the angle formed by the junction of the Mohawk and Hudson rivers, lies the territory now known and distinguished on the map of New York State as the county of Saratoga."

Among the several opinions concerning the origin of the name "saratoga", that presented in Saratoga County Heritage ² seems acceptable, "The fruitful hunting ground of the Iroquois Indians was called Sarach-togue, 'hillside of a great river; 'place of the swift water' until February 7, 1791 when it became Saratoga County."
Geographically situated at the junction of the two great valleys, one stretching north to the St. Lawrence River, the other west to the Great Lakes and beyond, Saratoga has a rich and varied history. Henry Hudson and his crew may have been the first white men to see this area in 1609 when they ventured as far as the rapids near the junction of the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers. The site of numerous early colonial settlements, the pivotal Revolutionary War Battle of Saratoga in 1777, and a gateway for the westward migration of many local as well as New England settlers, were all important early roles played by Saratoga.

¹ History of Saratoga County, New York , Nathaniel B. Sylvester, (1878), 1979.
² Saratoga County Heritage, Violet B. Dunn, Ed., 1974.

Complete Texts and Illustrations

Heritage Hunters is privileged to be able to offer the complete text of Sylvester's History of Saratoga County , together with the original accompanying illustrations. View this important volume by starting at Sylvester's History .

We are honored to present William L. Stone's 1880 work Reminiscences of Saratoga and Ballston . The complete text and illustrations are available here for your edification and enjoyment. Start with the Table of Contents.

Thanks to Bill Carr for these two useful volumes.

Project Gutenberg has graciously offered links to:

• R. F. Dearborn's 1872 travel guide - Saratoga And How to See It
• An early political tract published in 1816 in Ballston Spa - A Review and Exposition, of the Falsehoods and Misrepresentations, of a Pamphlet Addressed to the Republicans of the County of Saratoga, Signed, "A Citizen"

AmericanWars.org has offered a link exchange to

• New York in the Revolution as Colony and State, listing New York's military units and individual soldiers by County. (At the time of the Revolution, our Saratoga area was part of Albany County.)