Gideon Putnam
Founding Entrepreneur of Saratoga Springs
Gideon Putnam started out at an early age on the path of discovery that would eventually take him to Vermont, then Bemis Heights, NY, before landing in the place called “the springs near Saratoga” in 1789 with his wife Doanda Risley and their two sons.
In 1802 he purchased some land from Henry Walton and built Putnam’s Tavern & Boarding House, later named Union Hall, then the Grand Union Hotel. Almost immediately people begn flocking to the springs in large numbers. Envisioning a village with streets, a church, a school and a burying ground, Gideon proceeded to purchase 130 more acres from Walton in 1805. He laid out the new village so the springs would be on the public highways branching off from Broad Street.
Gideon excavated and tubed the Congress Spring in 1802. By 1811 his success enabled him to start construction on another commodious hotel, Congress Hall. During the construction of this building an accident occurred that injured Gideon and some of his workmen. Gideon Putnam never fully recovered from his injuries, dying on December 1, 1812 at the age of 49.