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From Wikipedia: Saratoga Falls

[from Wikipedia]

Saratoga Falls is a city and the county seat of Van Dief County, [missing info], United States. It was named after a cluster of shallow rapids in the Mohegan River, along which the city is situated.

History
19th Century
The first European settlers in the valley of the Mohegan River are believed to have established themselves in 1814 at New Independence, near Lake Covington. These were soon joined by settlements on the river itself, at Suffolk (est. 1816), Fletcher Grove (est. 1819) and Acheson (est. 1822).

In 1820, at the request of settlers, Fort Jefferson was established in the area for protection from Native Americans. In 1856 the fort was abandoned.

Religious settlement
In 1825, Saratoga Falls was established as a religious colony by the Knights of Jehovah, a Restorationist Christian movement centered in western New York. The new settlement, which benefited from investments and an industrious organizational drive by the parent sect, quickly eclipsed the other villages in the region, particularly after the Appalachian & Pacific Railroad ran a trunk line through the city in 1838. By the time of the Civil War, it was the locus of population growth in the area.

In 1847, however, the new city had lost its initial character, and the religious charter under which the city had been founded was revoked and a new charter established. As a result of the city's growth, and the change in its governance, in 1849, Saratoga Falls replaced Acheson as the seat of Van Dief County.

College
In 1868, the Van Dief Agricultural College was established as a land-grant college, but under the presidency of Hamilton Henry Van den Berg, it reoriented to have a main focus on engineering and technology. In 1886, the original college was closed and all its assets acquired by a new, private corporation that reopened it as the Keyserling College of Mining and Technology, by which name it continues to be known. In 1942 the college was reconstituted as a non-profit corporation, and in the 1950s, thanks to major grants from the federal government, the college quadrupled the footprint of its campus and undertook major new construction, including a new library.

Tornado of 1881
On May 3, 1881, a large tornado destroyed most of the downtown district and devastated the area, killing nearly 80 people. New municipal buildings—now known as the Old Courthouse and Old City Hall—were built, along with a new railroad station and depot.

20th century
Construction of Madison Memorial Library
On December 8, 1908, Saratoga Falls officially opened the Madison Memorial Library, which had been constructed in part with a $12,000 donation from the Carnegie Foundation. The building, built in the beaux arts style, was designed by Samuel C. Loomis of Chicago. Officials from the local Masonic temple, including descendants of some of the original town founders, laid the cornerstone in 1906. When it opened, the library contained 4,383 volumes.

Religious revivals in the 1920s
Roy E. Davis, a founding member of the 1915 Ku Klux Klan, hosted a series of religious revivals in Saratoga Falls in 1925-26. At least three lynchings that occurred shortly after the last of these revivals has been ascribed to the presence and influence of Davis.

Establishment of Fort Suffolk
In 1898, the United States Department of War constructed the Mohegan Quartermaster Depot, which consolidated operations for multiple supply depots in the area at one site. During World War I, the depot produced a wide range of items, including saddles, harnesses, stoves, and kitchen utensils.

In 1934, the depot was reorganized and reestablished as a military station under the name Fort Suffolk. Research associated with the Manhattan Project was carried out there until 1943, when German prisoners of war began to be housed at the site.

Flood of 1935
Saratoga Falls was one of many communities affected by the Mohegan River flood of 1935. After record rainfall in mid-January, 90% of the city was flooded, electricity was lost, and most of the downtown flooded after a levee failed. The National Guard deployed to the area to help those displaced, distribute much-needed emergency supplies, inoculate residents for typhoid fever, and purify drinking water. The flood caused an estimated $8.5 million worth of damage to the city.

Murder of Sarah Yarber
Saratoga Falls was the site of a nationally prominent murder in 1973. A 17-year-old resident, Sarah Irene Yarber, was found dead in an abandoned field east of the city, in circumstances that suggested ritual torture and homicide. The case is one of the earliest to have been linked to the so-called "Satanic Panic" of the last quarter of the twentieth century. It has never been solved.

Geography
Though the boundaries of Saratoga Falls fall upon both sides of the Mohegan River, the bulk of the city and all of its commercial and industrial properties lie on the eastern shore of the river. The surrounding countryside is markedly hilly, most prominently in the Covington hills area southeast of the city. These are a ridge of limestone hills that rise several hundred feet in elevation over the surrounding countryside. Further to the east lies Lake Covington, and to the north Russian Lake.

Demographics
As of the census of 2010, there were 44,533 people, 18,654 households, and 11,144 families living in Saratoga Falls. The racial makeup of the city was 83.4% white, 10.2% Hispanic, 2.4% African American, 1.2% Asian, and 1.8% from other races.

There were 18,580 households, of which 31.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.1% were married couples living together, 13.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 37.0% were non-families. 30.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.95.

The median age in the city was 37.3 years. 23.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 29.2% were from 25 to 44; 27.5% were from 45 to 64; and 11.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.8% male and 51.2% female.

Economy
The economy of Saratoga Falls, and Van Dief County in general, was originally agricultural in nature, and agriculture continues to be a major source of income. However, the late nineteenth century area saw industry investing in the area, as represented by such firms as Adams Dial & Screw (a predecessor of today's Murray-Huemler avionics company); Hermes Car and Foundry Co., a manufacturer of railroad cars; Wells and Fall Motor Bodies, a manufacturer of industrial motors; and Woodlin Electrical Co., a manufacturer of electrical gear.

During World War II, the Jackson-Brill Iron Works manufactured heavy gear, including ship motors, gearing, and propellors, for the United States Navy.

With the decline of manufacturing in the twentieth century, Saratoga Falls experienced an industrial contraction, though the presence of Fort Suffolk, and industries associated with military research, has cushioned the fall. Industry continues to be represented by Spartan Techadyne, Salopek Engineering, and Proteus Technologies, along with smaller, local manufacturers. In addition, Saratoga Falls hosts a major distribution center for KountryFresh Restaurant Supply, and is home to the editorial and book manufacturing offices of Parsons Collegiate Media.

The city is also home to Cluck for a Buck, a regional chain of fast-food restaurants that began locally.

Besides the above, major employers include the city itself, Keyserling College, Fort Suffolk, the Greater Van Dief County Schools, Keyserling Memorial Hospital, and Hochstetter All Saints Hospital.

The city is served by the Saratoga Falls Municipal Airport, which hosts commercial commuter flights linking it to larger nearby cities [citation needed].

Government
The city of Saratoga Falls is governed under a modified mayor-council-manager form of governance. A city council of eleven passes local ordinances, votes appropriations, and levies taxes. These are subject to veto by a mayor directly elected by the citizenry. The council appoints a city manager, who lacks legislative authority, to execute policy and oversee administrative operations; the appointment of this manager is not subject to a veto by the mayor. City council members are term-limited to a period of six terms of two years each; the mayor to three terms of four years each; the manager serves indefinitely at the pleasure of the council.

This system replaced a mayor-council form that governed the city until 1968.

Mayors [This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items]
Philip Sherman Batcheller (1825 - 1833)
Sidney Washington Trent (1833-1836)
Andrew Adams Batcheller (1836-1856)
Seymour Hoffman Van den Berg (1856-1864) [Whig/Republican]
Nicholas Biddle Batcheller (1864-1868) [Republican]
Hiram Brown Van den Berg (1868-1880) [Republican]
Silas Winfield Stuart (1880-1888) [Democrat]
Harrison B. Hart (1888-1896) [Republican]
Gustav Aaron Van den Berg (1896-1908) [Republican]
William Gunderson Starr (1908-1912) [Democrat]
Wilson W. Baker (1912-1920) [Democrat]
Roger Van den Berg (1920-1924) [Republican]
Simon T. Rutherford (1924-1932) [Republican]
Simon G. Oakley (1932-1940) [Democrat]
Carlton V. Coarsewood (1940-1948) [Democrat]
Edgar H. Pruitt (1948-1952) [Democrat]
John P. Wallace (1952-1960) [Republican]
Nelson D. Van den Berg (1960-1968) [Republican]
Henry L. Carson (1968-1972) [Democrat]
Richard C. Hartlein (1972-1980) [Democrat]
Kenneth Fitzgerald (1980-1988) [Democrat]
Jonathan Westfall (1988-2000) [Republican]
Terrence Cook (current)

Education
Public schools
* James K. Polk Elementary School
* Thomas Jefferson Elementary School
* Ulysses S. Grant Elementary School
* William McKinley Elementary School
* Northgate Middle School
* Proctor Middle School
* Schuyler Middle School
* Eastman High School
* Westside High School

Private schools
* Agape Christian Academy

Alternative schools
* St. Francis Xavier School

Points of Interest
* Appalachian & Pacific Railroad Museum
* Hochstetter All Saints Hospital
* Kings' Methodist Church
* Madison Memorial Library
* Mobley Building
* Old Courthouse
* Old City Hall
* Palace Theater
* Ristorante Locarno
* Saratoga Falls Convention Center
* Stewart's Hole
* Suffolk Wilderness and Conservation Area

Notable people
Charlene Albright, artist
Philip Sherman Batcheller, Christian restorationist
Jimmy Cox, aviator
William Ellis, basketball player
Jermaine Flynn, musician
Paul Griffin, actor
Arthur Lingle, entrepreneur, founder of Cluck for a Buck
Jason Lynn, guitarist
Edgar Stambaugh, politician
Richard B. Terrell, United States Army general
Gustav Aaron Van den Berg, governor
Vanstetter T. Van den Berg, business executive
Sarah Yarber, crime victim

Talk:Saratoga Falls
WTF state is this city located in?
Entry says it is located in Nevada. My own research, however, turns up no such city in Nevada but instead turns up at least three cities called "Saratoga Falls" in three other states, all of them described so vaguely that they are all plausible candidates for being this city! 27 March 2004 [reply]

I believe it must be the one in Ohio on account of Mohican River and have edited the article accordingly. 5 April 2004 [reply]

You "believe"? We need substantiation, and the city in Ohio has no college. Also, it is the "Mohegan" river in the article, not the "Mohican". 17 August 2004 [reply]

I believe that "Mohegan" is a misprint, and stand by the Ohio identification. 19 August 2004 [reply]

What "Ohio" identification? I can find no city in Ohio called "Saratoga Falls." 5 September 2004 [reply]

That is because article contains a consistent misprint. It is actually Brinkhaven, Ohio, on the Mohican River. 8 September 2004 [reply]

Brinkhaven lacks a college, and had a population of 179 in the 1990 census. 17 October 2004 [reply]

You are correct and I withdraw the identification. Does anyone have any better information? I am removing any reference to its location within a state pending a better identification. 21 October 2004. [reply]

I have it on authority that the city being described is in fact Haverhill, Massachusetts. The river is the Merrimack (= "Mohegan") and the college is North Essex Community College [="Keyserling"] 27 December 2004 [reply]

Though I agree the article is replete with errors, it is plain that "Saratoga Falls" is "Sarasota" in Florida, whose "Keiser University" campus has been misspelled. 4 January 2005 [reply]

Isn't the simplest hypothesis that this is a redundant page for Saratoga, New York, which has been marked up as a prank? 18 March 2005 [reply]

I have been to Saratoga Falls and can confirm that it exists. I don't recall, however, if it was in Connecticut, North Carolina, Illinois, or South Dakota, but I do know it must have been one of those states. 29 October 2007 [reply]

Until someone shows documentation establishing which state this city is in, I am leaving it blank with a "missing info" tag. Please do not reply or make further edits to this page until we have identified the state it is located in, from which we will be able to fact check all the other dubious information that it contains. 17 June 2009 [reply]