Saratoga Springs’ Greenridge Cemetery: History & Symbolism
Thursday, July 27, 2023
Jacqueline Bunge, Saratoga Springs History Museum’s Director of Education, gave a presentation on on the symbols found on the gravestones, monuments and mausoleums located in Greenridge Cemetery. She detailed the cemetery’s rich history and early burial, mourning and funeral customs.
The Story Behind William J. Burke & Sons Funeral Home
Thursday, June 29, 2023
History Museum education director Jacqueline Bunge, writer Carol Godette and Burke & Bussing's Mark Phillips discussed the history of William J. Burke and the legacy of the Burke Funeral Home, which has served countless Saratogians with dignity and respect for more than 100 years. The illustrated presentation highlighted aspects of Victorian funeral customs and practices, as well as the history of this funeral home from 1878 to the present.
Brandtville Blues: History of a Saratoga Springs Community
Thursday, May 18, 2023
Speaker: Carol Daggs is a fourth-generation Saratogian and a descendant of the original residents of Brandtville, a historically African American rural farming community dating back to the 1800s, located at the edge of Saratoga Springs, New York near the Spa State Park.
An enriching discussion filled with photos and stories to open up a history of the Spa City that will be new to many people. Author of the book Saratoga Soul: Brandtville Boogie and an accomplished musician and entertaining speaker, Carol brings Brandtville alive with never-before-seen images and riveting storytelling.
George Washington & Saratoga: It’s Complicated
Thursday, April 27, 2023
Speaker: Local writer John Oliver, a former docent at the Saratoga Springs History Museum, is also an amateur historian focusing on the American experiment. Oliver's work has appeared in the Times-Union, the Newtown (Connecticut) Bee, Simply Saratoga, Saratoga Living, Philadelphia Weekly and Newsweek. He is the author of a comic memoir, I Know This Looks Bad, and he also has a subscription blog, LoucheLife.substack.com.
Saratoga and George bumped into each other twice—once when we almost cost him his job as commander of the Continental Army and the other when he visited the village on a secret real estate mission. Both times, he wasn’t at all happy with Saratoga. In this special presentation, Oliver reveals a Washington you didn’t learn about in school, discusses what drove him so relentlessly and shows why, as one historian says, GW’s in our wallets, but not in out hearts. An astonishing look at the Father of Our Nation.
Katrina Trask’s Saratoga Legacy
Tuesday, November 15, 2022
Presentation by Rumara Jewett – with historical readings by Tamie Ehinger and Michael Belanger * Musical performance of Katrina Trask’s lyrics by vocalist Eileen Egan Mack and pianist Michael Clement * One-night exhibit of the Museum’s Trask Collection
Eminent Saratogian Katrina Trask (1853-1922), visionary thinker and founder of Yaddo, left a complex and fascinating legacy from an inspiring life of triumph over devastating losses. To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the dedication of the Katrina Trask Gateway Memorial in Congress Park on November 15, we listened to Katrina’s own words as she describes her challenges, and her solutions.
Presented by the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation and the Saratoga Springs History Museum, made possible through the generous support of Saratoga Arts and the Alfred Z. Solomon Charitable Trust.
Click image above to read Katrina Trask’s lyrics
“Everyone Went to the Festa!”: The Feast of St. Michael in Saratoga Springs
Tuesday, September 27, 2022
At the Saratoga Springs History Museum
Speaker: Mary Ann Fitzgerald, Saratoga Springs City Historian
Starting in 1914, the Feast of St. Michael was celebrated in late September in Saratoga Springs’ Dublin neighborhood, now known as the Beekman Street Arts District. Originally a benefit for the Principessa Elena Society, a community resource for newly arrived Italian Americans that still exists today, the “Festa” grew into a widely beloved celebration that embraced live music, plentiful cuisine at Dublin’s numerous Italian restaurants, and even fireworks on the outskirts of town. This presentation is based on interviews for the West Side Oral Narrative Project and includes priceless public and family photos ranging from the 1920s–1990s, and newspaper clippings going back to 1914.
Funding generously provided by the Alfred Z. Solomon Charitable Trust.
The Remarkable Life of John Morrissey
Thursday, August 25, 2022
Speaker: Brien Bouyea, national award-winning sportswriter, author of Bare Knuckles & Saratoga Racing: The Remarkable Life of John Morrissey and Communications Director at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.
John Morrissey was an undefeated bare-knuckle boxing champion who founded Saratoga Race Course and served two terms in the U.S. Congress and one in the New York State Senate. The colorful Morrissey, a native of Ireland who grew up in nearby Troy, also was a major figure in gambling and constructed the Club House in Saratoga Springs, which later became known as the Canfield Casino and is now home to the Saratoga Springs History Museum. Learn more about his fascinating life at this special presentation.
Funding generously provided by the Alfred Z. Solomon Charitable Trust.
The Saratoga & Schuylerville Railroad: Gone But Not Forgotten
Thursday, July 28, 2022
Speaker: Richard Chait, author of Rails in and Around Saratoga Springs, is a frequent speaker on railroad history in upstate and western New York.
The Saratoga & Schuylerville (S&S) Railroad picked up in 1946 where the Fitchburg Branch of the Boston & Maine had left off years earlier. The line connected Saratoga Springs and Schuylerville, carrying coal and other commodities to communities along the Route 29 corridor. However, the S&S’s success was short lived, as the trucking industry soon began to offer stiff competition that was difficult to overcome. As a result, the Saratoga & Schuylerville curtailed its operations a short 10 years later, in 1956. Around Saratoga today one can still see reminders of this train line, which this special presentation will highlight, as well as detailing other interesting pieces of Saratoga and Schuylerville history.
Funding for this presentation was generously provided by the Alfred Z. Solomon Charitable Trust.