Editing Ballston Spa, New York (section)

==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 (hydrology)|spring]].{{cn|date=April 2025}}

In 1803, Ballston Spa's [[Sans Souci Hotel (Ballston Spa)|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nysarato/Sylvester/chap30.html |title=History of Saratoga County, History of the Village of Ballston Spa |publisher=Rootsweb.ancestry.com |access-date=November 25, 2012}}</ref> 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]],<ref>{{cite web|last1=DiCarlo|first1=Gino|title=Saratoga Line|url=http://gino.cdfw.net/_trolleypage/SRC/src2.htm|website=Gino's Rail Pages|access-date=November 19, 2014}}</ref> and the [[Hudson Valley Railway]].<ref>''The Ballston Terminal Railroad And Its Successors'', 2008</ref>

The village was famous for its [[mineral water]] [[Spring (hydrosphere)|spring]] used for healing in [[Sanatorium|sanatoria]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Spa, Sanatorium |url=https://archive.org/stream/independen79v80newy#page/n77/mode/1up |newspaper=The Independent |date=July 13, 1914 |access-date=August 21, 2012}}</ref> including the Hawthorne and Lithia springs.

The [[effervescent|effervescent water]], [[Pharmaceutical drug#For nutrition|tonic]], and [[cathartic]] from this city is also known as Ballston Spa. The liquid contains common [[salt]] and [[carbonate]]s of [[Magnesium carbonate|magnesium]] and [[Calcium carbonate|calcium]].

===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 music|folk]] singer, wrote in his song "When I Go Out" details about his trip through [[Pennsylvania]] and [[New York (U.S. state)|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, New York|Saratoga]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://archive.org/details/jimmie-rodgers-treasures-untold/Buster+Red+-+When+I+Go+Out.mp3 | title=American Folk Song Collection }}</ref>

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 (1994 film)|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 (film)|The Horse Whisperer]]'' (1998) were also filmed in the village.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119314/locations|title = The Horse Whisperer (1998) - IMDb|website = [[IMDb]]}}</ref>

Since 2008 Ballston Spa has been home to the ''Ballston Spa Film Festival'' of short films from around the globe.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ballston Spa Film Festival|url=http://bspafilm.org/|access-date=August 29, 2013}}</ref>

Ballston Spa was also mentioned in the 1963 novel [[The Tulip Tree]] by Howard Rigsby.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Rigsby |first1=Howard |title=The Tulip Tree |date=1963 |publisher=Doubleday and Company |location=Garden City, New York |page=128 |edition=Book Club}}</ref>

===Museums===
[[File:Verbeck House, Ballston Spa, NY.jpg|thumb|The historic [[Verbeck House]].]]
Ballston Spa is home to the [[National Bottle Museum]].<ref>[http://www.nationalbottlemuseum.org/nationalbottle/Untitled.html National Bottle Museum] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080915074337/http://www.nationalbottlemuseum.org/nationalbottle/Untitled.html |date=September 15, 2008 }}</ref> It is also home to Brookside Museum, Saratoga County Historical Society.<ref>[http://www.brooksidemuseum.org Brookside Museum]</ref>

The [[Brookside Museum]], [[United States Post Office (Ballston Spa, New York)|United States Post Office]], [[Union Mill Complex]], and [[Verbeck House]] are listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2009a}}</ref>

===Industry===
In 1838 the Ballston Spa National Bank, one of the oldest still functioning American [[bank]]s, was founded. As of 2022, the Bank has 13 branches.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.bsnb.com/locations/ | title=Capital Region Branch Locations &#124; BSNB }}</ref>

[[George West (American politician)|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]], and at one time owned almost a dozen paper mills located along the [[Kayaderosseras]] Creek.<ref name="lost">''Lost Industries of the Kaydeross Valley'', Starr, 2007</ref> The village was also home to the Ballston Knitting Company from 1918 to 1994.{{citation needed|date=July 2012}}

As the [[county seat]] 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)