Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1797.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Ballston Spa’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ballston Spa is more historic than 96% of U.S. towns, #108 of 758 in New York. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Ballston Spa’s overall grade.
New York towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical New York town has 12.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Ballston Spa’s 13.9 sits near the middle of its state (51% of New York towns have fewer) while its 7 historic buildings outnumber those of 73% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.8 points). Two sources give 1771.
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Ballston Spa’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
In 1803, Ballston Spa's 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. 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, and the Hudson Valley Railway.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Ballston Spa. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1902Saratoga sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Ballston Spa.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Ballston Spa, 1878–1893
Passages that mention Ballston Spa, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Saratoga County, New York, with illustrations biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers1878 · page 231Read the page →
Read the text
ton Spa, held at the house of David McMaster, on the first Tuesday of May, agreeable to public notice, and in conformity to the charter of incorporation of the said village of Ballston Spa, granted by the Legislature in an act entitled an act relative to the village of Ballston Spa, passed March 21, 1807, the following persons were duly elected to the respective offices : Joshua B. Aldridge, Stephen H.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Saratoga County, New York, with biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers1878 · page 231Read the page →
Read the text
ton Spa, held at the house of David McMaster, on the first Tuesday of May, agreeable to public notice, and in conformity to the charter of incorporation of the said village of Ballston Spa, granted by the Legislature in an act entitled an act relative to the village of Ballston Spa, passed March 21, 1807, the following persons were duly elected to the respective ofiices : Joshua B. Aldridge, Stephen H.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Saratoga County, New York1893 · page 168Read the page →
Read the text
The village of Ballston Spa was incorporated March 21, 1807. It lies mostly in the town of Milton, the shire town of the county, the southern part being in the town of Ballston.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Saratoga County, New York, with biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers1878 · page 228Read the page →
Read the text
The village of Ballston Spa, the county-seat of Saratoga County, is situate at the head of the lower valley of the Kay-adri'os-se-ra river. The village lies mostly in the town of Milton, the shire-town of the county, but the upper or southern part is fast extending across the town-line into the town of Ballston. This latter name was first written Balls- Town, in honor of the Rev. Eliphalet Ball, the founder of the town. But as there was already a Ballstown in Maine,
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Ballston Spa, 1771 to 1955
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
In 1771, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Ballston Spa’s post office opened in 1797, and the census of 1810 counted 500 people here.
How does Ballston Spa rank for history?
Ballston Spa is more historic than 96% of U.S. towns, #108 of 758 in New York. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Ballston Spa?
50% of Ballston Spa’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.8 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1938.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (5), Wikidata (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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