Gideon Putnam Burying Ground Historic Marker Restored

Matt Veitch, at left, Saratoga Springs City Historian Mary Ann Fitzgerald (front, center) at Gideon Putnam Burying Ground. Photo provided.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Saratoga County Board of Supervisors Vice Chair Matt Veitch was joined by the Saratoga Springs Historian and representatives from Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation, Saratoga Springs DPW, Saratoga Springs History Museum, and TR Signs to unveil the restored Gideon Putnam Burying Ground Historic Marker. 

Veitch, who represents Saratoga Springs at the county level of government, secured funding in the County’s 2023 budget to dedicate to various projects in Saratoga Springs. 

Veitch spearheaded an initiative to restore multiple historic markers and signs throughout the city, including:  Bryan Home (Olde Bryan Inn), NYS County Highway Superintendents Association Founding site, Walworth Estate (Pine Grove), The ‘Gut’ or the ‘Valley’ commemoration of Jewish Contributions to the City, Solomon Northup Memorial, and Dublin Neighborhood marker.

The Gideon Putnam Burying Ground is located on South Franklin Street in Saratoga Springs. Named for the founding father of Saratoga Springs, Gideon Putnam, the cemetery contains more than 150 graves of early and mid-19th century, mostly working-class residents of the city. In 1835, the Putnams gave their family burial land to the village of Saratoga Springs to be used as a public burial plot. In 1812, Gideon Putnam became the first to be buried here.

In 1811, Gideon began construction of Congress Hall just north of Congress Spring but was seriously injured when a section of scaffolding at the hotel collapsed. He died in 1812 at the age of 49 as a result of his injuries.