The United States Department of Agriculture has issued a Secretarial Disaster Designation for several New York counties — including Saratoga — after a late-April freeze damaged crops across the state.
The declaration opens up Emergency Farm Loans for impacted farmers who have experienced significant damage or losses from the disaster and can’t obtain funding from other sources to meet their needs.
Saratoga was one of 28 counties listed as a primary disaster area for the freeze with farmers in an additional 24 counties eligible for aid should their lands touch one of the impacted counties. The freeze occurred April 19-21 and cost the state $30 million in crop losses, according to a release from New York Governor Kathy Hochul.
New York wasn’t the only stater impacted by this freeze. Areas of Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont and New Jersey, which touch the impacted counties in New York were also included in the declaration. A separate disaster declaration for 17 counties in Pennsylvania for a freeze at the same time was issued back in May.
In addition to the April freeze, Saratoga County farmers and ranchers whose lands touch Fulton and Montogomery Counties are available for aid due to a freeze that occurred in mid-May. The primary counties for this weather event were Fulton, Montgomery, Onondaga, Otsego, and St. Lawrence counties.
In Saratoga County, the month of April saw major temperature fluctuations. According to daily temperature data from the Stillwater Reservoir Station, the days leading up to the freeze saw temperatures peak in the high 60s before dropping below freezing on April 19 and coming within 10 degrees of the lowest recorded temperature for that day during the freeze.
While it’s far from the largest sector in the county, the agricultural sector still has a significant impact in the county.
According to the 2022 Census of Agriculture, a report published by the USDA every five years, Saratoga County has 604 farms accounting for nearly 74,000 acres and nearly $29 million in revenue. In terms of total sales, it ranks 26 out of 62 in New York and 1,292 out of 3,078 nationwide.
In terms of specific products, Saratoga County ranks 11 out of 59 counties statewide and for fruits, nuts and berries and 10 out of 60 statewide for specialty crops like Christmas Trees and nursery produced plants.
Saratoga County farmers impacted by the freeze are encouraged to contact the Washington County Farm Service Agency for information on how to obtain emergency loans.
The Saratoga Central Catholic Baseball Team were one 15 teams that helped the school earn “School of Distinction” status (SCC Saints Athletic)
Saratoga County schools are well known for their achievements on the field.
Spa Catholic went back-to-back as champions in Baseball, Burnt-Hills produced an All-American wrestler (see page 30) and Saratoga Springs was one game away from winning a state championship in Football.
But that success doesn’t end when the students leave the field. The New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) has announced which schools received School of Distinction and School of Excellence status for the 2025-26 academic year, including several Saratoga County Schools.
These achievements recognize schools with high levels of scholar athletes. To be recognized as a scholar athlete, a student must maintain a grade point average of 90 or above. For team status, the top 75% of a team must be considered scholar athletes.
At the end of the year, the total number of teams reaching Scholar-Athlete status and awards are given for schools with a high percentage of teams reaching that status. Schools with 75% of their varsity teams reaching the status are considered a “School of Excellence” while schools with 100% of their varsity teams reaching the status are considered “School of Distinction.”
With all sports seasons over and GPAs finalized, here is a rundown of the Saratoga County Schools that achieved a high in and out of the classroom.
School of Distinction
Only one school in Saratoga County achieved school of Distinction status for the 2025-26 school year: Saratoga Central Catholic High School. All 15 of the Saints’ varsity teams achieved Scholar Athlete status with a total of 124 student athletes reaching Scholar-Athlete status across the three seasons.
Schools of Excellence
Six schools in Saratoga County achieved School of Excellence status. Here is a rundown of those schools.
• Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake Senior High School. 28 teams achieved Scholar Athlete team status with 497 athletes achieving status across the three seasons.
• Mechanicville Junior/Senior High School. 18 teams achieved Scholar Athlete status with 257 athletes achieving status across the three seasons.
• Saratoga Springs High School. 35 teams achieved Scholar Athlete status with 715 athletes achieving status across the three seasons.
• Schuylerville High School. 23 teams achieved Scholar Athlete status with 213 athletes achieving status across the three seasons.
• Shenendehowa High School. 34 teams achieved Scholar Athlete status with 520 athletes achieving status across the three seasons.
• Waterford-Halfmoon Junior Senior High School. 14 teams achieved Scholar Athlete status with 115 athletes achieving status across the three seasons.
Full totals for all school districts statewide can be found on NYSPHSAA.org
500 pounds of cannabis was recovered after a car chase which started in Queensbury and ended in Saratoga County ( Courtesy of NYSP)
A State Police Charger and Tahoe were damaged during a car chase (Courtesy of NYSP)
Two Massena residents have been arrested and charged with multiple felonies after leading New York State Police on a two-county car chase that ended in Saratoga County.
The driver, identified as Torrey Jackson, 39, of Massena was arrested and charged with felony attempted aggravated assault upon a police officer, felony 1st degree criminal possession of cannabis, two counts of felony 2nd degree assault, 2nd degree felony criminal mischief, felony tampering with physical evidence, and several misdemeanors.
The passenger, identified as Tori Rushlow, 29, of Massena, was arrested on charges of felony attempted aggravated assault upon a police officer, felony 1st degree criminal possession of cannabis, felony 2nd degree assault, 2nd degree felony criminal mischief, felony tampering with physical evidence, and several misdemeanors.
According to State Police, the chase began on Interstate 87 south in Queensbury at 3:24 p.m. on July 16 when Jackson allegedly failed to stop when Troopers attempted to pull the vehicle over. The chase entered Saratoga County and left the interstate at exit 17 — continuing through rural and residential roads, fields and people’s yards.
The chase reentered I-87 at the exit 16 off ramp with Jackson allegedly traveling south in the northbound lanes of traffic. While entering the interstate, Jackson is alleged to have struck a State Police vehicle traveling north. Upon reaching a roadblock set up at exit 15, the vehicle turned around and proceeded north utilizing both the northbound and southbound lanes of traffic.
During this part of the chase, Jackson is alleged to have attempted to ram multiple State Police cars while Rushlow allegedly threw several garbage bags containing vacuum sealed bags of cannabis out the window of the vehicle, according to New York State Police.
Eventually the vehicle came to a stop in the median, with both Rushlow and Jackson allegedly attempting to flee on foot. Despite their attempts to flee and active resistance, Jackson and Rushlow were taken into custody, arraigned in Wilton Town Court and remanded into the Saratoga County Correctional facility.
Two State Troopers sustained non-life-threatening injuries, and two vehicles were damaged. All told, over 500 pounds of cannabis was recovered from the scene.
A Washington County man allegedly caught with two hand grenades in Stillwater is facing additional charges after a search warrant in the Town of Easton.
Evan Giroux, 40, of Easton New York was arrested by the Washington County Sheriff after a joint investigation by the Washington and Saratoga County Sheriff’s Offices, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tabacco, Firearms and Explosives, Albany Field Office, and the New York State Police Bomb Disposal Unit on July 14.
Earlier that day, Giroux had been arrested in the Town of Stillwater after a traffic stop allegedly uncovered two grenades in his vehicle and prompted the evacuation of a Stewart’s shop.
The search warrant on his home in Easton is alleged to have found several illegal firearms — including an assault rifle — large capacity magazines and an explosive device.
An assault rifle is defined by New York law as any semi-automatic rifle that can accept a detachable box magazine and has one or more “military characteristics.” High-capacity magazines are defined as any magazine with a capacity of more than 10 rounds of ammunition.
Easton was charged with one count of felony second degree criminal possession of a weapon, and 20 counts of felony third degree possession of a weapon.
Giroux was arraigned in the Easton Town Court and released after posting bail.
A Gansevoort man has been sentenced to up to 25 years in prison after pleading guilty to striking and killing a Walmart employee in October.
Timothy Besaw, 35 of Gansevoort had plead guilty in April to aggravated vehicular homicide and first degree vehicular assault. He was sentenced to two concurrent sentences of 12 ½ to 25 years and 3 ½ to seven years in state prison — the maximum sentence. Besaw was sentenced as a second felony offender.
Besaw’s sentence comes as a result of an incident on Oct. 16 in which Besaw was chased by three employees at the Saratoga Walmart in Wilton. Besaw got in an argument with the employees before getting in his car and striking two of them, according to the Saratoga County District Attorney’s Office.
One of the employees, identified as Michael Bushey, 69 of Saratoga Springs died on Nov. 3 as a result of the incident.
Besaw later crashed his car on Perry Road. While he refused a breath test at the scene, a blood test later showed that he was under the influence of alcohol and open containers were found in his vehicle.
“Today’s sentence reflects the devastating consequences of the Defendant’s actions and holds him accountable for the immeasurable harm he caused,” District Attorney Brett Eby said in a statement. “While no sentence can restore the life that was taken or erase the trauma inflicted upon the surviving victim and the families involved, we hope this outcome provides a measure of justice and closure. Our thoughts remain with the victim’s loved ones, whose strength and resilience throughout this case have been extraordinary.”
Three men have been arrested after they allegedly beat a Ballston Spa resident with a baseball bat during a robbery.
Braedon Loveday, 19, and Timothy Wilbur, 34 — both of Middle Grove — and an unnamed 18-year-old were all charged with felony 1st degree robbery, felony 2nd degree gang assault and felony 2nd degree assault.
According to New York State Police, troopers were dispatched to a residence in Ballston Spa at around 10:50 p.m. on May 19. Loveday, Wilbur and the other individual are alleged to have beaten the victim with a baseball bat, knocking them unconscious. After knocking the victim unconscious, the three stole cash and the victim’s cellphone before fleeing prior to police arrival.
The three individuals were arrested over the course of the next three months. Loveday was arrested during a traffic stop on Interstate 87 on May 23 while the 18-year-old was arrested in their home on July 3. The final individual, Wilbur was arrested on July 8 with the assistance of the Saratoga County Probation Department.
All three individuals were remanded into the Saratoga County Correctional Facility in lieu of bond pending further proceedings.
A snapshot of Airnow.gov’s smoke map shows a plume of smoke covering much of the east coast. Each colored dot represents an air quality monitoring station.
An EPA diagram showing the size of fine particles.
The sun, as seen from the Saratoga TODAY office in Saratoga Springs on the morning of July 15. (Aidan Cahill)
Summer in Upstate New York is known for many types of fires.
Campfires for roasting marshmallows, bonfires for spending time with friends and fires on the grill for making savory food.
But while these fires bring joy, some don’t.
On Tuesday, July 14, Saratoga County woke up to hazy skies and a yellow tint in the air. The next day the haze was worse, and the New York Department of Environmental Conservation issued an air quality alert for most of New York including the Capital Region.
The haze and drop in air quality are due to a smoke plume spreading across Noth America from the Arctic Circle in the north to as far as North Carolina and the Texas-Oklahoma border in the south.
The smoke is coming from a series of wildfires across Canada’s interior. These fires, while separate events, stretch from Canada’s border with Minnesota all the way up to the far reaches of Canada in the Northwest Territories. As of time of writing, the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre lists 837 active fires across Canada with over 2 million hectares burned this year.
Of these fires, 531 are listed as out of control monitored — meaning the fire is being observed and but suppression actions aren’t being taken, 189 are out of control, 42 have been held to a certain area and 75 are under control.
The fires aren’t just in Canada however as two blazes in Minnesota, the Bear Trap and Thumb fires in Superior National Forest have jumped the border. As of publication there are a total of 48 large fires in the United States.
These fires have had a noticeable impact on the Capital Region. Beyond just the hazy sky and orange sun, the air quality in Ballston Spa noticeably dropped, going from moderate air quality throughout most of Tuesday to unhealthy for sensitive groups on Wednesday.
Outside the Capital Region, several parts of New York, several areas to the south in Germantown, and the City reported unhealthy levels as did Upstate cities like Rochester and Buffalo.
Driving the drop in air quality is the presence of fine particle matter in the air. Of concern to health experts are particles 2.5 microns or smaller which can include organic material, by products of combustion and metals. Exposure to these particles has been linked to deaths in those with pre-existing conditions, non-fatal heart attacks, irregular heartbeats, and respiratory issues, according to the EPA.
Those with pre-existing conditions are advised to limit their time outdoors during drops in air quality.
“Given the heightened air pollution levels we are seeing in parts of the state, the New York State Department of Health recommends that New Yorkers limit strenuous outdoor activity to reduce the risk of adverse health effects,” New York State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said, “People who are especially sensitive to the effects of elevated levels of pollutants, including the very young and those with pre-existing respiratory problems such as heart disease or asthma, should avoid spending time outdoors, if possible. Those who experience symptoms or have symptoms that worsen should consider consulting their personal physician.”
Smoke from wildfires in Canada has become a recuring part of summer in Upstate New York. Last year smoke from wildfires in Quebec led to similar warnings across the state.
A Moreau man has been indicted on 26 criminal charges after he allegedly assaulted a victim multiple times over a five-month stretch in 2025.
Mark Sabo, 60, of Moreau is alleged to have repeatedly subjected the victim to multiple assaults between August and December 25. The assaults took place in a residence on Reynolds Road.
According to Saratoga County District Attorney Brett Eby, over that period, Sabo allegedly used several different implements including a blow torch, power drill, knife, and fire poker. In addition, Sabo is alleged to have repeatedly held a gun to the victim’s head and at one point fired the weapon to demonstrate that the weapon was loaded.
“This indictment reflects the seriousness of the allegations and the extraordinary work of the investigators and prosecutors who brought this case before the Grand Jury,” said Eby. “I commend the members of the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office and my office for their commitment to pursuing justice on behalf of the victim.”
Of the 26 charges, only five of them came at the time of the arrest. Of those five charges, two were related to the alleged five ounces of cocaine found on Sabo at the time of his arrest, one charge was for assault, one was for menacing and one was for possession of a weapon.
The remaining 21 charges, made after Sabo was arrested, include several additional counts of assault, weapons possession, sexual abuse, criminal mischief, weapons possession, harassment and drug-related offenses.
Thus far, Sabo has pleaded not guilty to all charges. He is due back in court on July 16.
Hundreds of people witnessed a ceremony to swear in 10 new citizens on July 4.
On a site where freedom was secured for all nearly 250 years ago, 10 people swore allegiance to the United States in a citizenship ceremony at the Saratoga National Historical Park in Stillwater.
The ceremony took place on July 4, 2026, the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence going into effect. The 10 people sworn in hailed from Bangladesh, Canada, China, Guyana and India. The ceremony was witnessed by a crowd of hundreds who filled out the tents, sidewalks, and grasses surrounding the ceremony.
The ceremony featured a performance of the Star Spangled Banner and other traditional American patriotic songs by the Racing City Chorus and a reading of the Declaration of Independence by a park volunteer clad in period accurate regalia.
The citizenship oath was administered by Citizenship and Immigration Services Albany Field Office Director Gwynne Dinolfo. Other speakers included Park Superintendent Leslie Morlock and Assemblymember Carrie Woerner who spoke about her own family’s experience coming the United States from Germany and finding their own version of the American Dream.
Woerner also commended the citizens on their journey, noting the hardship of leaving behind the familiar to seek a better life.
“You came here with your talents your hopes, your dreams, and your energies to join us in making sure that this nation remains a place of opportunity, that the values of liberty and justice for all, freedom, and the pursuit of happiness remain values that future generations hold here,” Woerner said.
The 2026 ceremony marks the 23rd annual ceremony held at Saratoga National Historical Park. Over that time 400 citizens have been sworn in.
While the most notable contribution of Saratoga County to the American story may be the battles that took place here, it’s not where our contributions end.
Saratoga County has been home to some of the most influential Americans to ever live, people who contributed to our shared success in numerous wars, and blazed trails that have been followed by millions of Americans.
While the battle may have ended on October 7, 1777, our story didn’t. Here are some events, people and innovations that shaped the history of this nation from Sea to Shining Sea.
1780 – Saratoga I is Launched Less than three years after the Battle of Saratoga, Saratoga’s name would be placed on a U.S. Navy warship for the first time. The Saratoga I was a 68 ft, 150-ton sloop armed with 16 nine-pound cannons and two four-pound cannons. It had a crew of 86 personnel and was launched from Philadelphia on April 10, 1780. During its career the ship was responsible for capturing or recapturing 12 British or American ships. She was lost on March 18,1781 and was the first of six ships to bear her name.
These ships include a Corvette launched in 1814 which saw action in the Battle of Plattsburgh, a sloop of war which saw constant decommissioning and recommissioning from the time it was launched in 1842 to when it was sold for scrap in 1907, a cruiser which was renamed three times, and two aircraft carriers — the first of which deserves its own entry on this timeline.
The First ship to bear Saratoga’s name served for only a year but managed to capture 12 ships (Courtesy of US Navy Heritage Command)
1802- Gideon Putnam Builds what becomes Grand Union Hotel- One of the most prominent features of Saratoga County is the mineral springs. World renowned for their health benefits, the springs brought thousands of visitors, including prominent aristocrats and world leaders, to Saratoga County — specifically Saratoga Springs and Ballston Spa. While it’s true that Ballston Spa was the first to take advantage of this, building two hotels in 1792, Saratoga Springs would have more staying power.
The first to take advantage of this was Gideon Putnam who built what would become the Grand Union Hotel in 1802 in the vicinity of the Congress Spring. Putnam would lay out much of what would become Saratoga Springs, tubing and connecting its springs. Putnam was in the process of building Congress Hall when he died in 1812.
While the opening of a hotel may seem like a trivial event in the broad story of the American mosaic, its impact can be seen both in what Saratoga became and the places it inspired. The list of famous figures to visit Saratoga Springs and their significance on American history could go on for pages, and the legacy of Saratoga Springs can be seen in the places named for it in Utah, Nebraska, California and Disney World. And, yes, the paper does regularly get calls from people thinking we are in Utah or California.
1819- Abner Doubleday is Born in Ballston Spa- As legend goes, baseball was created by Abner Doubleday in Cooperstown, New York in 1839. This story is based on the 1907 Mills Commission report which was largely influenced by Abner Graves’ testimony.
While the story has been refuted due to the fact that Doubleday’s diaries make no mention of baseball, he never claimed to invent baseball and would have been in his plebe year at West Point when the story is supposed to have happened, what is true is that Doubleday had a pretty remarkable life, even without inventing baseball.
Doubleday was the second-in-command at Fort Sumpter at the very start of the Civil War and fired the first shots of the Union Army. Doubleday commanded troops throughout the conflict in many notable battles. His most famous moment came in the Battle of Gettysburg when he took command of I Corpe and repelled a numerically superior force. Throughout his career, Doubleday is reported to have ordered baseball bats and balls for his troops because he believed sports were a good way to build unit cohesion.
While Cooperstown may be the birthplace of Doubleday’s myth, the man himself was born in Ballston Spa.
Baseball or no baseball, Abner Doubleday’s story is still worth telling, and that story began in Ballston Spa. (Courtesy of Library of Congress)
1825- Erie Canal Completed- The Second of the two Canals in Saratoga County, the Erie Canal was completed in 1925 with the ceremonial dumping of water from Lake Erie into New York Harbor on November 4, 1825. The canal’s completion would fundamentally shape New York and connect New York City to Midwest markets in Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio. It drastically reduced the cost of transporting goods, meaning that agricultural products made in those Midwest states could be shipped to New York.
The cost of transporting a ton of goods from Lake Erie to New York City went from $100 to $9, and freight traffic surpassed that of the Mississippi River. This prosperity propelled New York to become the largest port in the country within five years and led to the boom in cities such as Syracuse, Utica, and Rochester.
Saratoga’s connection to this route can be seen in the southern part of the county in Halfmoon and Waterford. Originally the Erie Canal bypassed the Cohoes Falls through a series of locks in Cohoes before crossing the Mohawk River at the Lower Mohawk Aqueduct in Halfmoon — today the site of the Crecent Bridge. In 1918, new locks to facilitate barge traffic were completed which bypassed the Cohoes Falls to the north in Waterford.
Canal Boats transit the Lower Mohawk Aqueduct in the Town of Halfmoon (Courtesy of CPH Library Local History).
1841- Saratoga Springs Resident Solomon Northup is Kidnapped into Slavery – In April 1841, Solomon Northup, a free Black man living in Saratoga Springs and working various jobs was enticed by two circus men to travel with them to Washington, DC as a traveling musician.
In Washington, Northup was drugged and kidnapped into slavery beginning a 12-year ordeal. Northrup was held in slavery in Louisiana under the name Platt Hamilton. In 1842 Northup was sold to plantation owner Edwin Epps for $1,500, where he would remain in bondage until 1853. Northup’s ordeal ended after Epps hired a Canadian Carpenter by the name of Samuel Bass. Bass in June 1852 managed to get two letters to William Perry and Cephas Parker who were friends of Northup in Saratoga. The two men contacted Northup’s wife and an attorney named Henry Bliss Northup whose relatives had at one point owned his father.
Henry Northup soon gathered documents to show that Solomon Northup was a free man and in bondage in Louisiana and received permission from New York Governor Washington Hunt to travel to Louisiana and rescue Northup in accordance with New York law. Henry Northup first went to DC to receive the backing of the Secretary of War and one of Louisiana’s senators. He contacted Bass in Louisiana who instructed him on where to find Solomon Northup and successfully freed him on January 3, 1853. That year Solomon Northrup and David Wilson would publish a book “Twelve Years a Slave,” which recounted his time in bondage. In 2013, the book was adapted into a movie which was nominated for 315 awards and won 145 of them — including three Academy Awards.
12 years a Slave Solomon Northup, as depicted in Twelve Years a Slave
1861- Malta Man is First Union Officer Killed in Civil War- The first officer to give his life in support of the Union cause was a man from Malta — Elmer Ellsworth. Ellsworth was born in Malta in 1837, grew up in Mechanicville and made his way to Illinois in 1854. Ellsworth, who had a fascination with all things military history, formed a militia company based on the French Zouave Regiment. The Company was known for its discipline and soon grabbed the attention of a Springfield lawyer by the name of Abraham Lincoln. The two became close friends with Ellsworth working in Lincoln’s law office as a clerk and participating in his 1860 presidential campaign.
When war broke out, Ellsworth returned to New York and recruited a 1,100-man unit, the 11th New York Infantry Regiment. Known as the “Fire Zouaves” due to its heavy recruitment of New York City firefighters, this unit was tasked on May 24, 1861, with crossing the Potomac River to seize Alexandria, VA. After the city was secure, Ellsworth went to a hotel to take down a Confederate flag that flew over it. While he was carrying down the captured flag, Ellsworth was shot and killed by the hotel owner, James Jackson. Jackson was then immediately killed by one of Ellsworth’s men who later received the Medal of Honor for this action.
Ellsworth’s death became an early rallying cry for the Union cause. His body lay in State in the White House before being buried in Mechanicville. Spurred by his death, another regiment, the 44th New York, was formed with the nickname “Ellsworth’s Avengers.”
1863- Thoroughbred Racing Begins at Saratoga- The so-called “Mecca of American horse racing” got its start mere weeks after the battle of Gettysburg. At the time, horseracing wasn’t new in Saratoga Springs as harness racing had been going on since 1847 at the Saratoga Trotting Course. In August 1863, the track would see something new to the Spa City and put its place on the map for the next 166 years: thoroughbred racing.
On August 3, 1863 — a month to the day after the Civil War’s turning point — the Irish born bare-knuckle boxer John “Old Smoke” Morrissey held the first thoroughbred race in Saratoga Springs at the Trotting Course. While the number of horses was limited, the crowd wasn’t, with 15,000 people attending. The next year Morrissey along with Leonard Jerome, John Hunter and William Travers would build the Saratoga Race Course as the Trotting Course was deemed to be too small for their operations.
Morrissey’s race paid off for the city. Already a resort town with its spas and springs, Saratoga Springs became a hub of gambling and horse racing for years to come. In 2024 with its normal home down for maintenance, the Belmont Stakes were held in Saratoga Springs, adding a jewel to the Saratoga Race Course’s history of excellence.
1885- Ulysses S. Grant Dies in Moreau – While Ellsworth and Doubleday may have commanded troops when the Civil War began, it was Ulysses S. Grant who commanded its conclusion. And as the two Saratoga County born officers started their stories Upstate, Grant would end his here — both literally and figuratively.
Dying of throat cancer, the former 18th president and General of the Army made his way to a cottage on Mt. McGregor in the Town of Moreau in June 1885. The cottage was owned by a friend of his who offered it as a quiet respite to spend his finals days. It was here where Grant finished his memoirs on July 18, 1885, and died on July 23. His body would be transported to New York City where it lies in a grand tomb in Upper Manhattan.
1925- USS Saratoga (CV-3) Launched- The fifth ship to carry the name Saratoga, the USS Saratoga (CV-3) had arguably the most interesting service run of the six “Saras.” She was originally designed and laid down to be a battle cruiser, but post-World War 1 naval limitations forced Navy planners to find a new role for her. That new role was to become one of the Navy’s first fast aircraft carriers. Launched in 1925 and commissioned in 1927, the Saratoga helped the Navy develop its tactics and train aircrews in the leadup to World War 2. She was in San Diego when Pearl Harbor was attacked and sortied to Pearl Harbor shortly after. In January 1942, she was struck by a torpedo and missed the Battle of Midway due to subsequent repairs.
The ship would take part in the invasion of Guadalcanal and the subsequent Battle of the Eastern Solomons, sinking a light carrier in the process. Throughout 1943 and 44, she would take part in several campaigns throughout the Central and South Pacific, striking targets and providing air cover to invasions. In February 1945, Saratoga was providing air cover for the invasion of Iwo Jima when she was struck by five bombs and three aircraft. After repairs in Washington, she spent the rest of the war as a training ship.
At war’s end, Saratoga was used to ferry troops home from the Pacific theater as part of Operation Magic Carpet. She ended up transporting 29,204 personnel, the most of any ship. When she retired from service, aircraft had completed 98,549 carrier landings on her deck, the most of any ship at the time. Her end would come in 1946 when she was sunk by the second of two atomic bombs during Operation Crossroads.
The USS Saratoga served for nearly 20 years and was one of the US Navy’s first modern carriers
1945- Malta Test Site Begins Operations-
In order to test rocket rockets seized from the Germans in World War II and develop our own capabilities, the nation turned to Saratoga. In 1945, General Electric established the Malta Rocket Test Station to test rocket engines, fuels and other weapons for the military. At the site, rockets would be held in the gantries and tested prior to flight tests elsewhere the United States. Rockets tested at the site included the Bumper, Vanguard Vega, Discoverer, Centaur, Polaris and Skybolt rockets. In 1964, GE sold the site to the New York State Energy Research Authority and later the Wright-Malta Company.
The site continued to test ordinance for the US Army when Global Foundries took over the site as part of their technology campus making semi-conductors.
1955- Kesselring Site begins Operations. It’s not just the USS Saratoga that ties Saratoga County to nukes and the navy. While initially built as a test site for nuclear reactors, it was quickly transformed into a training center and research facility to assist sailors and officers training for duty on-board nuclear-powered Navy ships. Over 50,000 sailors have trained at the site, including future President Jimmy Carter. The site is still in operation today, training sailors on the S8G nuclear reactor in use on Ohio Class Submarines.
