Ballston Spa

Ballston Spa is a village and the county seat of Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population of the village, named after Rev. Eliphalet Ball, a Congregationalist clergyman and an early settler, was 5,111 at the 2020 census. The village was famous for its mineral water spring used for healing in sanatoria, including the Hawthorne and Lithia springs. Ballston Spa was the model for the village of North Bath, NY, the setting for the 1993 best-selling novel and 1994 movie, Nobody's Fool. It was also the location of the fictional "Elspeth Hatch" murder trial defended by Clarence Darrow set in 1897 in the book titled The Angel of Darkness by author Caleb Carr. The Last of the Mohicans was written by James Fenimore Cooper in the present day Brookside Museum and inspired by the local landscape. Several scenes in Sydney Pollack's 1973 film The Way We Were were filmed on Ballston Spa's Front Street. Scenes from The Horse Whisperer (1998) were also filmed in the village. The National Bottle Museum is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. As of 2022, the Ballston spa National Bank, one of the oldest still functioning American banks, has 13 branches. The town is home to a number of historic buildings including the United States Post Office, Union Mill Complex, and Verbeck House. It is also home to Brookside museum, Sarataga County Historical Society, and Ballston Knitting Company from 1918 to 1994.

History

Ballston Spa is the primary city name, but also Malta are acceptable city names or spellings, Ballston Center, East Line, Factory Village, Harmony Corners, Malta Ridge, Maltaville, Milton Center, Pioneer, Riley Cove, West Milton on the other hand no longer accepted or obsolete and are no longer used as a designation. The official name is Ballston Spa, New York. Ballston Spa is a village in Saratoga County, New York. It is famous for its mineral water spring used for healing in sanatoria. The village was the model for the village of North Bath, NY, the setting for the 1993 best-selling novel and 1994 movie, Nobody's Fool. It was also the location of the fictional "Elspeth Hatch" murder trial defended by Clarence Darrow set in 1897 in the book titled The Angel of Darkness by author Caleb Carr. Ballston Spa National Bank, one of the oldest still functioning American banks was founded in 1838. As of 2022, the Bank has 13 branches. The Brookside Museum, United States Post Office, Union Mill Complex, and Verbeck House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The National Bottle Museum is also home to Brookside museum, Sar atoga County Historical Society. The Ballston Knitting Company from 1918 to 1994 was based in the village. The Last of the Mohicans was inspired by the local landscape. Buster Red, a Depression era folk singer, wrote in his song "When I Go Out" about his trip through Pennsylvania and New York in the 1930s. The Way We Were, The Horse Whisperer, and The Last Of The Mohicans were all filmed in the area. The town is home to the Ballston spa Film Festival of short films from around the globe, which has been running since 2008. It has been home to several mayors, including Frank Rossi (2022-present) and Larry Woolbright (2020-2021).

Geography

Ballston Spa is located at 43°026N 73°514W (43.007185, -73.851168).According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 1.6 square miles (4.1 km²), of which 1.4 square miles is land and 0.62% is water. New York State Route 50 (Milton Avenue), a north-south highway, passes through the village. County Road 63 (Malta Avenue) leaves the village to the east, connecting it to U.S. Route 9 and Interstate 87 (The Northway). The village is located on the East River, which flows through the center of New York state. The East River is a tributary of the Hudson River, and runs through Ballston Spa. It is also the source of the Long Island Sound, which runs through the north and south sides of the village, and the Finger Lakes region to the west. The village has an elevation of 43.2 feet (12.7 meters) and a population of 1,856. It has a population density of 1:1,854. It lies on the east side of the East river, which is the only source of water in the town. The town has an area of 4.1 square miles, or 1.3 km², which includes 1.8 square miles of land (0.62 km²) of which 0.7 km² is water, and 1.2 sq miles (1.4 km²).

Demographics

As of the census of 2020, there were 5,111 people, 2,291 households in the village. There were 2,398 housing units at an average density of 1,495.4 per square mile (578.7/km²) The racial makeup of the village was 96.33% White, 1.17% African American, 0.16% Native American,0.52% Asian, and 1.21% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.94% of the population. The median income for a household was $37,173, and the median family income was $49,387. About 7.4% of families and 10.6% of residents were below the poverty line, including 16.8% of those under age 18 and 5.1% ofThose age 65 or over. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was2.94. The population was spread out, with 23.9% under the age of 18, 8. 1% from 18 to 24, 32.7% from 25 to 44, 18.7%. The median age was 36.2 years. For every 100 females, there are 88.2 males. The per capita income for the village is $20,237. It was $36,929 for males and $27,281 for females. The village is located on the U.S. Turnpike, which runs through the town.

Schools

The town of Ballston Spa is home to a number of public and non-public schools. The public schools are: Milton Terrace South, Wood Road Elementary School, and Malta Avenue Elementary School. St. Mary's is a Catholic school, providing students with a Catholic education from preschool through 5th grade. The Church Mouse is a small, private, non-denominational Christian school for children Pre-K to 6th grade, providing a Christian education from pre-K through 6thgrade. The town also has a private Christian school, St. Paul's, for children in pre-k to sixth grade, as well as a small private Christian high school for students in sixth grade and up. The city's public school system was formed in the 1950s and 1960s. It was dissolved in the 1970s and is now run by a private company. The school system has been re-established in the 1990s and the current system was established in the 2008-2009 school year.

Climate

Ballston Spa has a humid continental climate, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps. The region is typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Ballston Spa is a Dfb climate region. It has a warm-to-humid summer and a cold- to hot winter. The climate is very different from that of the rest of the U.S., with the winters being very cold and the summers very hot. The area has a high level of humidity, especially in the summer. It also has a low level of dryness, with the summers being very hot and the winters very cold. It is the only region in the United States to have such a high degree of humidity in the winter, and it is also the only place in the world with such a temperature difference between summers and winters. The weather is very variable, with very hot summers and very cold winters, and is often very dry and wet in the spring and summer. The temperature can reach as high as 40 °C (100 °F) in some areas, and as low as -20 C (0 °S) in other parts of the region. The winters are very cold, with many nights lasting more than a few days. The summers are very hot, with temperatures reaching up to 40 C or 50 °D (1 8°F).

Bibliography

Grose, Edward F. (1907). Centennial History of Ballston Spa 1763-1907. Troy, NY: E. H. Lisk. A Souvenir of the Centennial Celebration Held June 2225, 1907. Retrieved 9 November 2010 from BallstonSpa.com. The article was originally published in the New York Times on June 22, 1907, as part of a series of articles on the city's centennial celebrations.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Ballston Spa, Saratoga County, New York = 35.1. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 65. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 40. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Ballston Spa = 3.5 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 2,006 individuals with a median age of 38.6 age the population dropped by -5.38% in Ballston Spa, Saratoga County, New York population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 3,192.38 residents per square mile of area (1,232.93/km²). There are average 2.25 people per household in the 2,206 households with an average household income of $47,950 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 6.40% of the available work force and has dropped -3.77% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 26.06%. The number of physicians in Ballston Spa per 100,000 population = 179.3.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Ballston Spa = 40.7 inches and the annual snowfall = 64.2 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 121. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 180. 84 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 10.1 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 50, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Ballston Spa, Saratoga County, New York which are owned by the occupant = 50.49%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 60 years with median home cost = $172,760 and home appreciation of -1.39%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $20.58 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $7,982 per student. There are 14.1 students for each teacher in the school, 791 students for each Librarian and 515 students for each Counselor. 8.57% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 14.73% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 11.19% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).