142n Annual Meeting & Presentation Post Event Blog
At our 142nd Annual Meeting, held in the historic Canfield Casino, Museum Director James Parillo invited guests on a fast-moving, 140-year journey through the life of the Saratoga Springs History Museum—its origins, its champions, its close calls, and the work that continues today.
What followed wasn’t just a history lesson. It was the story of how a small historical society, founded in 1883 without even a permanent home, grew into one of the oldest museums in New York State and the steward of Saratoga Springs’ memory.
From Parlors to a Permanent Home: The Early Years (1883–1906)
The organization that would become the Saratoga Springs History Museum was founded on October 13, 1883—not as a museum, but as a historical society. Sixteen local residents from around the region (not just Saratoga Springs) petitioned to create a group dedicated to sharing collections, hearing lectures, and studying “local” history—defined broadly as upstate New York, including the upper Hudson, Lake George, and Lake Champlain.
Some of those early names still echo today:
Joseph A. Drexel, owner of the cottage now known as Grant’s Cottage
James Marvin, associated with Marvin Square
John Putnam, a descendant of city founder Gideon Putnam
Spencer Trask of Yaddo, a signer of the society’s constitution
Nathaniel Sylvester, historian of Saratoga County
And among them, one woman stood out: Ellen Hardin Walworth. She was the only female founder of the organization, later a co-founder of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and a key force in regional commemoration efforts, including the Saratoga Battle Monument.
At first, there was no museum and no building. Members hosted programs and displays in private homes, opening their personal collections to each other and, occasionally, to the public. It was, as Parillo noted, something of an “elitist society” in those early decades.
The organization eventually did find its first formal home in 1899: the House of Pansa, a Pompeii-inspired building on Broadway where Death Wish Coffee stands today. There, the society shared space with an eclectic mix of artifacts—Egyptian and Roman antiquities among them. While plenty of photos survive of the building interior, strangely, none show their early exhibits.
Even then, the seeds of longevity were visible. By the turn of the century, the society was already one of the oldest institutions of its kind in the state.
The Move to the Canfield Casino (1906–1920s)
A major turning point came in 1906 when gambling in Saratoga Springs came under intense pressure. The Canfield Casino closed, leaving Richard Canfield with a beautiful, heavily invested property he could no longer use as intended. He had just spent around a million dollars improving the building and park.
Unable to sell a gambling house in an anti-gambling climate, Canfield sold the building to the City of Saratoga Springs for $150,000. The city planned to turn it into a community center.
Meanwhile, the historical society—revived again through the determination of Ellen Hardin Walworth—was in need of a home. The timing was perfect. The city and the society partnered, and the organization moved into the second floor of the Canfield Casino. The society also appointed its first official curator, Captain James Andrews.
Archival photos from 1915 and the early 1920s show the rooms we still use today: the dining room where the Annual Meeting was held, the former high-stakes gambling parlor, and gallery spaces filled with Native American artifacts, tapestries, and curiosities. Remarkably, many of those same objects are still in the collection and on display today, now interpreted in updated exhibits.
Captain Andrews himself was more than a curator; he and his family were prolific collectors. Their Lake Avenue farmhouse was packed with artifacts—many of which eventually migrated into the museum’s attic and permanent collection. Even the large painting of Napoleon that once hung in the Windsor Hotel was purchased by Andrews and hung in the casino as a gesture of goodwill when the museum moved in.
After Andrews’ death in 1923, his wife Lillian Ford Andrews continued her work with the museum and appears in one historic image serving tea in colonial costume to Franklin Delano Roosevelt during his visit to the Saratoga Battlefield site.
Growth, Markers, and Big Personalities (1920s–1950s)
The next major curator, Evelyn Barrett Britten, took over in 1927. A devoted Saratogian and close friend of the Walworth family, she guided the museum through decades of growth.
Under her leadership:
The museum played a role in the Sesquicentennial of the Battle of Saratoga in 1927, including major pageants at the battlefield.
School tours became a staple (even if students may not have been quite as mesmerized by German porcelain as she wrote in her notes).
The organization placed historical markers throughout the county, including plaques at Stark’s Knob and near the Champlain Canal in Schuylerville—some of which still stand, even if a few historical details could use updating.
The 1950s were a time of both loss and preservation in Saratoga Springs. Across the city, older buildings and grand Victorian hotels were demolished as tastes and travel habits changed. The Grand Union Hotel and United States Hotel did not burn; they were dismantled because they no longer fit the way people traveled and vacationed.
Amid these changes, the museum’s collections grew dramatically with the arrival of the Walworth family collection. When the Walworth house on Broadway was no longer salvageable, a decision was made—per the wishes of Ellen’s granddaughter Clara Walworth—to bring the family furnishings, courtroom, and artifacts to the third floor of the Canfield Casino. What had been considered a dilapidated attic was transformed into a dedicated Walworth Museum space, much of which still shapes our interpretation of the family today.
Fighting for the Casino and the Park (1950s–1960s)
Evelyn Barrett Britten’s contributions extended beyond the museum walls.
In the 1950s, a company called Dutch Inns of America proposed building a large hotel right in Congress Park, with plans that would have turned the casino into a lobby and potentially reshaped—or eliminated—the historic building altogether.
The community was sharply divided. Full-page ads ran in local newspapers. Supporters argued the city needed the tax base and dismissed the casino and museum as unimportant relics. Opponents, led in large part by Britten and the museum’s allies, saw the park and casino as irreplaceable heritage.
The city ultimately voted against selling the land, preserving both Congress Park and the Canfield Casino. A second attempt to commercialize the park surfaced in the 1960s, but again, preservation prevailed.
Britten served as curator for an extraordinary 42 years, also writing a long-running column, Reminiscences of Saratoga, under her own name and the pen name Jean McGregor. While her love of storytelling occasionally outpaced strict historical accuracy, the museum owes her a tremendous debt for her advocacy and dedication.
Professionalization and a New Focus (1969–1990s)
After Britten’s death in 1969, her work was followed by a major professional shift.
Local attorney Michael Sweeney joined the board, and his wife Bea Sweeney became the museum’s first director and also served as city historian. Bea led a massive project to accession and catalog the museum’s collections—decades of artifacts that had never been formally recorded. As a result, many items appear in the records with accession dates around 1969–1970, even though they had been in the building for generations.
During this period:
The organization tightened its mission, changing its formal name to the Historical Society of Saratoga Springs (1971) and focusing specifically on the history of the city rather than the entire region.
Collections were re-evaluated; some items that did not fit the new mission were deaccessioned, returned, or transferred to other institutions.
Fundraising efforts grew, including the long-running Saratoga Springs Antique Show, chaired beginning in 1973 by Minnie Bolster.
Minnie became a force in her own right—a passionate, opinionated, and deeply knowledgeable champion of Saratoga history. She not only helped raise funds for the museum but also for the restoration and reproduction of historic elements in the casino, such as the Victorian-style carpets and draperies, and the reconstructed spring pavilions in Congress Park.
A Modern History Museum (2000–Today)
By the late 20th century, the museum had professional staff but was still finding its way. In 2000, the board hired a new director: James Parillo, the speaker at this year’s Annual Meeting.
Early in his tenure, the board held a retreat to clarify the institution’s direction. The result was the mission statement the museum still follows today:
To foster public education and chronicle the story of Saratoga Springs’ history by operating the History Museum; conducting programs; and collecting, preserving, exhibiting, and interpreting materials that document this history.
With that mission came a crucial rebranding. While the legal name remains the Historical Society of Saratoga Springs, the organization now does business as the Saratoga Springs History Museum—a name that better reflects its public-facing role and invites visitors in.
Key developments since then include:
Installation of a new orientation exhibit introducing visitors to the city’s story
A refreshed logo and visual identity
A long-term collaboration with curator Michael Levinson, whose work transformed spaces like the former high-stakes room into immersive, story-driven exhibits
Continued preservation and interpretation of major collections such as the George S. Bolster photographic collection, now available online
Growing partnerships with other cultural and historical organizations
A sustained increase in visitation, with record-high attendance in recent years
Today’s exhibits are designed not only to inform but also to engage and entertain, recognizing that modern visitors experience history differently than those who once patiently read every panel.
Looking Ahead
As Parillo concluded at the 142nd Annual Meeting, the story of the Saratoga Springs History Museum is one of adaptation, persistence, and community effort. From parlor gatherings in 1883 to a modern museum serving thousands of visitors each year, the institution has weathered periods of dormancy, fought for its building and park, and redefined its mission to keep pace with a changing city.
What hasn’t changed is the core idea that began in 1883: that Saratoga Springs’ stories—its people, places, struggles, and triumphs—are worth preserving and sharing.
The museum’s next chapter is being written right now, with every new exhibit, program, partnership, and visitor who walks through the doors of the Canfield Casino.
If you’d like to support the museum’s mission and be part of its ongoing story, we invite you to become a member or make a donation using the links below. You can also watch the full recording of James Parillo’s 142nd Annual Meeting presentation here [insert video link].
Thank you to all of our members, donors, and sponsors whose generosity has helped keep the Saratoga Springs History Museum—and the history of our city—alive and thriving.