Editing Saratoga County, New York (section)

==History==
[[File:Verbeck House, Ballston Spa, NY.jpg|thumb|left|The historic [[Verbeck House]] in [[Ballston Spa, New York|Ballston Spa]]]]
When counties were established in the [[Province of New York]] in 1683, the present Saratoga County was part of [[Albany County, New York|Albany County]]. This was an enormous county, including the northern part of New York, as well as all of the present state of [[Vermont]] and, in theory, extending westward to the [[Pacific Ocean]]. This large county was progressively reduced in size by the separation of several counties until 1791, when Saratoga County and [[Rensselaer County, New York|Rensselaer County]] were split off from Albany County. The [[Battles of Saratoga]] (September 19 and October 7, 1777) marked the climax of the [[Saratoga campaign]], giving a decisive victory to the Americans over the British in the [[American Revolutionary War]], which convinced [[France]] that the [[Thirteen Colonies]] could win the war. The government of Louis XVI began lending military and financial aid to the American Patriot cause.

During the 19th century, Saratoga County was an important industrial center. Its location 30 miles north of Albany on the [[Delaware and Hudson Railway]], as well as its proximity to water power from the Hudson River and the [[Kayaderosseras Creek]], led to rapid industrial development beginning in the early 19th century. Some of the most important industrial employers were paper mills, tanneries, [[foundry|foundries]], and textile mills.<ref>{{Cite book
| last = Starr
| first = Timothy
| title = Invented in Saratoga County
| location = New York
| publisher = Rock City Falls
| date = 2008
}}</ref>

Since the construction of the Adirondack Northway in the 1960s, Saratoga County has consistently been the fastest-growing county in the [[Capital District, New York|Capital District]] and indeed, in Upstate New York, and one of the fastest-growing in the [[Northeastern United States]]. The county has historically maintained a low county tax rate; according to its official website, Saratoga County levies one of the lowest county tax rates in New York.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.saratogacountyny.gov/|title=Saratoga County, New York|access-date=March 28, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150325104007/http://www.saratogacountyny.gov/|archive-date=March 25, 2015}}</ref>