Editing Saratoga, New York

{{distinguish|text=[[Saratoga County, New York|its eponymous county]] or the adjoining city of [[Saratoga Springs, New York|Saratoga Springs]]}}
{{More citations needed|date=March 2021}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
|name                     = Saratoga
|official_name            = Town of Saratoga
|native_name              = 
|settlement_type          = [[Administrative divisions of New York#Town|Town]]
|nickname                 = 
|motto                    = 
|image_skyline            = 
|imagesize                = 
|image_caption            = 
|image_flag               = Flag of Saratoga.pdf
|image_seal               = 
|pushpin_map              = New York
|pushpin_label_position   = 
|pushpin_map_caption      = Location within the state of New York
|pushpin_mapsize          = 
|image_map                = Saratoga Saratoga NY.png
|mapsize                  = 250x200px
|map_caption              = Location within Saratoga County
|image_map1               = 
|mapsize1                 = 
|map_caption1             = 
|subdivision_type         = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
|subdivision_name         = United States
|subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
|subdivision_name1        = [[New York (state)|New York]]
|subdivision_type2        = [[Administrative divisions of New York#County|County]]
|subdivision_name2        = [[Saratoga County, New York|Saratoga]]
|government_footnotes     = 
|government_type          = 
|leader_title             = Supervisor
|leader_name              = Ian Murray
|leader_title1            = 
|leader_name1             = 
|established_title        = 
|established_date         = 
|unit_pref                = Imperial
|area_footnotes           = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2016">{{cite web |title=2016 U.S. Gazetteer Files |url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2016_Gazetteer/2016_gaz_place_36.txt |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=July 5, 2017}}</ref>
|area_magnitude           = 
|area_total_km2           = 111.11
|area_land_km2            = 105.05
|area_water_km2           = 6.06
|area_total_sq_mi         = 42.90
|area_land_sq_mi          = 40.56
|area_water_sq_mi         = 2.34
|population_as_of         = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
|population_footnotes     = 
|population_total         = 5808
|population_density_km2   = auto
|population_density_sq_mi = 
|pop_est_as_of            = 
|pop_est_footnotes        = <ref name="USCensusEst2016"/>
|population_est           = 
|timezone                 = [[Eastern Time Zone|Eastern (EST)]]
|utc_offset               = -5
|timezone_DST             = EDT
|utc_offset_DST           = -4
|elevation_footnotes      = 
|elevation_m              = 134
|elevation_ft             = 440
|coordinates              = {{coord|43|3|N|73|39|W|region:US-NY|display=inline,title}}
|postal_code_type         = 
|postal_code              = 
|area_code                = 
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = 36-65244
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info              = 0979461
|website                  = {{URL|http://www.townofsaratoga.com/}}
}}
[[Image:Surrender of General Burgoyne.jpg|thumb|right|Burgoyne surrenders to Gates after the Battles]]

'''Saratoga''' is a [[Administrative divisions of New York#Town|town]] in [[Saratoga County, New York]], United States. The population was 5,808 at the 2020 census.<ref name="GR2">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=January 31, 2008 |title=U.S. Census website}}</ref><ref name="census.gov">United States Census Bureau, 2020 U.S. Census Results, Saratoga town, Saratoga County, New York https://www.census.gov/search-results.html?searchType=web&cssp=SERP&q=Saratoga%20town,%20Saratoga%20County,%20New%20York</ref> It is also the commonly used, but not official, name for the neighboring and much more populous [[Administrative divisions of New York#City|city]], [[Saratoga Springs, New York|Saratoga Springs]]. The major [[Administrative divisions of New York#Village|village]] in the town of Saratoga is [[Schuylerville, New York|Schuylerville]], which is often, but not officially, called Old Saratoga. Saratoga contains a second village, named [[Victory, Saratoga County, New York|Victory]].

''Saratoga'' is a corruption of a [[Mohawk language|Mohawk]] word. It was the name of Indian hunting grounds located along both sides of the [[Hudson River (United States)|Hudson River]]. According to the town's history, it derives from {{lang|moh|se-rach-ta-gue}}, meaning "the hillside country of the quiet river".<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://historianatsaratoga.wordpress.com/2019/03/21/what-is-in-the-name-saratoga-plenty/ |title=What is in the name Saratoga? Plenty |date=March 21, 2019}}</ref>

Saratoga is located on the eastern border of the county and is located east of Saratoga Springs, and is bordered by [[Saratoga Lake]] and the Hudson River.

The town sends students to Saratoga Springs City School District, Schuylerville Central School District, and Stillwater Central School District.

== History ==
The name may derive from the [[Iroquoian languages|Iroquoian]] ''se-rach-ta-gue'' or ''sa-ra-ta-ke'', which the early Dutch settlers rendered as "Sarachtoge".<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.townofsaratoga.com/history/history |title=Town of Saratoga History}}</ref> A second early version of the name is, "Saraghtogo"<ref name=oledic>{{Cite web |url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Saratoga |title=Saratoga &#124; Etymology, origin and meaning of the name saratoga by etymonline}}</ref> but the origin remains unproven and thus uncertain.<ref name=oledic/>

The location was first settled at the end of the 17th century as "Fort Saratoga". Saratoga soon became contested land between British and French colonial forces, and the village of Saratoga (now Schuylerville) [[Raid on Saratoga|was destroyed]] by the French in 1745 during [[King George's War]].

Saratoga was originally a district of Albany County stretching from north of the Mohawk River to Northumberland, including lands for six miles on both sides of the Hudson River.  In 1775, the three districts were Ballstown, Halfmoon, and Saratoga.

It is best known as the location that [[Kingdom of Great Britain|British]] General [[John Burgoyne]] surrendered to [[Continental Army|American]] General [[Horatio Gates]] at the end of the [[Battles of Saratoga]] on October 17, 1777, often cited as the turning point for the United States during the [[American Revolutionary War|American Revolution]].  The two battles took place in the town of [[Stillwater (town), New York|Stillwater]] to the south, but the final 10 days of encampment and the actual surrender ceremony took place in Saratoga (Schuylerville).

In 1788, an act was passed organizing towns in place of districts and Stillwater was created from the Saratoga District, making four towns in what would become Saratoga County. These four mother towns were subdivided into the present 19 towns.  The original town of Saratoga included the modern-day towns of Easton, Northumberland, Moreau, Wilton, portions of Greenfield and Corinth, and the city of Saratoga Springs. The first loss of territory was in 1789 to the town of [[Easton, New York|Easton]] (now in [[Washington County, New York|Washington County]]). In 1798, the towns of [[Corinth (town), New York|Corinth]], [[Greenfield, New York|Greenfield]], [[Northumberland, New York|Northumberland]], [[Moreau, New York|Moreau]], and [[Wilton, New York|Wilton]] split from the town of Saratoga. In 1805, a narrow strip in the southwestern part of Saratoga was annexed to the town of Malta.  In 1819, the town of Saratoga Springs was formed from the rest of the western part of the town of Saratoga. Later, this would become the city of Saratoga Springs.<ref>HISTORY OF SARATOGA COUNTY, NEW YORK by NATHANIEL BARTLETT SYLVESTER 1878
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nysarato/Sylvester/chap02.html</ref>

The [[Saratoga Race Course]], in the adjoining city of Saratoga Springs, is the oldest operating horse-racing course in the US.

==Geography==

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the town has a total area of {{convert|42.9|sqmi|km2}}, of which {{convert|40.7|sqmi|km2}} are land and {{convert|2.2|sqmi|km2}}  (5.22%) are  water.

The town line is formed by the Hudson River and is the border of Washington County.  Fish Creek, a [[tributary]] of the Hudson, is the outflow of Saratoga Lake.

==Transportation==

[[U.S. Route 4 in New York|U.S. Route 4]] (Turning Point Trail<ref>NYS Highway Law § 342-DD</ref>) follows the Hudson River along the eastern part of the town. [[New York State Route 29]] (General Philip Schuyler Commemorative Highway) is an east–west highway, intersecting US-4 at Schuylerville. [[New York State Route 32]] is a north–south highway, partly conjoined with US-4 near Schuylerville.

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1820= 2233
|1830= 2461
|1840= 2624
|1850= 3492
|1860= 3843
|1870= 4052
|1880= 4539
|1890= 3855
|1900= 3999
|1910= 3942
|1920= 3680
|1930= 3027
|1940= 3212
|1950= 3225
|1960= 3515
|1970= 4206
|1980= 4595
|1990= 5069
|2000= 5141
|2010= 5674
|2020= 5808
|estyear= 
|estimate= 
|estref=<ref name="USCensusEst2016">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/tables.2016.html |title=Population and Housing Unit Estimates |access-date=June 9, 2017}}</ref>
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html |title=Census of Population and Housing |publisher=Census.gov |access-date=June 4, 2015}}</ref><ref name="census.gov">United States Census Bureau, 2020 U.S. Census Results, Saratoga town, Saratoga County, New York https://www.census.gov/search-results.html?searchType=web&cssp=SERP&q=Saratoga%20town,%20Saratoga%20County,%20New%20York</ref>
}}
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2" /> of 2000,  5,141 people, 2,026 households, and 1,387 families resided in the town. The population density was {{convert|126.4|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The 2,286 housing units  averaged 56.2 per square mile (21.7/km{{sup|2}}). The [[Race (United States Census)|racial makeup]] of the town was 97.80% White, 0.97% African American, 0.06% Native American, 0.16% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.23% from other races, and 0.72% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 1.17% of the population.

Of the 2,026 households, 31.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.9% were married couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.5% were not families. About 24.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the town, the population was distributed as 24.6% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 29.9% from 25 to 44, 25.7% from 45 to 64, and 12.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.7 males.  For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.2 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $42,727, and  for a family was $48,482. Males had a median income of $33,178 versus $27,654 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the town was $21,716. About 6.1% of families and 7.3% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 6.8% of those under age 18 and 6.2% of those age 65 or over.

== Communities and locations in Saratoga ==
*Burgoyne &ndash; A [[Administrative divisions of New York#Hamlet|hamlet]] in the northern part of the town, it is named after the commander of the British forces at the Battles of Saratoga.
*[[Cedar Bluffs, New York]] &ndash; A hamlet on the eastern shore of Saratoga Lake
*[[Coveville]] &ndash; A hamlet along the Hudson River, located by The Cove on US-4
*The Cove &ndash; An arm of the Hudson River
*[[Deans Corners]] &ndash; A hamlet in the northwestern quarter of the town located at the junction of County Roads 67 and 70
*[[Gates (hamlet)]] &ndash; A hamlet in the northern part of the town named after the commander of the American forces at the Battles of Saratoga
*[[Grangerville, New York]] &ndash; A hamlet near the northern town line, west of Schuylerville on NY-29
*[[Maple Shade, New York]] &ndash; A hamlet on the eastern shore of Saratoga Lake, south of Cedar Bluffs
*[[Meyer Corners]] &ndash; A location in the southwestern section  of Saratoga at the intersection of County Roads 70 and 71
*[[Quaker Springs]] &ndash; A hamlet in the southern part of the town on NY-32
*Saratoga Lake &ndash; (1) A hamlet at the northern end of (2) a [[lake]] named Saratoga Lake
*[[Saratoga National Historical Park]] &ndash; A national historical park that includes the Schuyler House, Saratoga Monument, Victory Woods, and the Battlefield (in Stillwater).
*[[Schuylerville, New York|Schuylerville]] &ndash; A village in the northeastern section of the town, located on US-4, NY-29&32, Champlain Canal, and Hudson River
*[[Victory, Saratoga County, New York|Victory]] &ndash; A village in the northeastern part of the town, located on NY-32
*Victory Mills &ndash; A post office name and the name of the last major mill in the village of Victory

==See also==
{{Portal|New York (state)}}
* [[USS Saratoga|USS ''Saratoga'']], 7 ships

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Saratoga, New York}}
* [http://www.townofsaratoga.com/  Town of Saratoga, NY]
* [http://history.rays-place.com/ny/saratoga.htm  Early history of the Town of Saratoga]
* [http://www.saratoga.org/ Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce]
{{Saratoga County, New York}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Towns in Saratoga County, New York]]
[[Category:Towns in New York (state)]]