The Saratoga Springs History Museum — Attraction in City of Saratoga Springs

The Saratoga Springs History is the history of everything in Saratoga. From prehistory to the present the museum presents three floors of Saratoga Springs history! The museum is located in the historic Canfield Casino. After you purchase your ticket you will walk through the well stocked gift shop and then into the museum. Exhibits on the first floor include an early “ice casket,” Native American artifacts, an early waterpipe, rocks from the Springs, and items from the Canfield Casino. After going through the first floor you can go up to the second. On the second floor are some very interesting displays on the history of hotels in Saratoga. Many people don’t know that at one time Saratoga had the world’s largest hotels. Artifacts from the hotel era include furniture from the Grand Union Hotel and United States Hotel.There is another room on the history of the “springs” in Saratoga Springs. Finally, there is another room that is kept in the style of the Canfield Casino. The room here gives info on people who opened the Casino, ran the Casino, and famous guests of the casino. There is also a display on the founders of the world famous Saratoga Horse Racing Track. The third floor also puts together many interesting exhibits. One room has an actual courtroom for the city of Saratoga. There is another room on the history of the “springs” in Saratoga Springs. Portrait art made by a Saratoga Springs artist from the 19th century is also on display. Finally, more Native American artifacts are on display. The museum truly captures everything “Health, History, and Horses!” Parking for the museum is free and you can usually park in front of the museum in Congress Park. The staff at the museum is friendly. This is a can’t miss for locals and a great stop for those...

The museum is very small, plan on getting through the entire thing in less than 15 minutes.

I went there this past Thursday, and had one of the worst customer service experiences in my life. There is a sign when you walk in that states there is no admissions fee for military. I asked the person at the ticket desk if the military discount is good for veterans (it always is at every museum I have ever gone to) and he said yes (although he didn’t seem to know for sure).

I showed him my Military ID and then paid for my girlfriends ticket. On the way out, a heavyset man with gray hair comes by the ticket counter and I hear the person who sold me the ticket ask him if the discount applied to veterans and the gray haired man said it did not. He didn’t notice I was right around the corner from him in the gift shop. After he was told that I was let in for free, the gray haired man went on a rant that I took advantage of the museum and that I probably never even served in the military.

He explained to the ticket salesman what “stolen valor” was and he assumed I was a case of it. He then said he had a son in the military. I would never expect someone with a son in the military to treat a veteran so disrespectfully. I was so furious I had to leave before it turned into an altercation. I served six years in the Army and this is the first museum I ever went to that distinguished between veterans and active duty in terms of a discount. I would have had no problem paying the ten extra dollars, but to get accused of stolen valor because of a mistake their employee made, was disgusting. The other museums in Saratoga Springs are better than this one, especially the racing...

We wanted to skip the noon heat, so we just came to check this out. For an Indian where the historical counts go back to 100 AD, when I see places showcasing the vanity of white gentleman's club from the 1800s, I am not impressed. Waste of time, unless you want to skip the heat outside.

On the ground floor, by the gift shop, you'll see only 2 panels worth of actual history on the geology and native culture of this town. After that, the whole building is a glorified tribute to the gentleman's club for men to drink, gamble, and have women in the dining area ready when they "needed them."I guess after all the high testosterone gambling, horse racing, and "deal making" that happened in this building, men need women for the final outlet of all that male energy! (The tour will give you details of the gentleman's club)

The building is now also a very resonably priced wedding venue. After all that gambling history, I guess it's only appropriate that people get married here now.

The museum is also a good reminder of how human vanity and overexploitation of natural resources (i.e., the springs) have severely shrunk them from their abandunt glory 200 yrs ago. Good lessons to learn, even from a place...