The Making of American Resorts: Saratoga Springs, Ballston Spa, and Lake George

Abstract

work makes a welcome addition to the regional history of upstate New York as well as the exploding interest in American Corbett's book ...not only summarizes more recent work but adds new perspectives on the built environment, the make-up of the visitors, the role of women, and the nuts and bolts of resort development...An indispensable work for anyone broadly interested in the history of leisure it he early republic, or upstate New York resorts in particular. Certainly, no one with an interest in the history of Saratoga Springs will be able to do without it.-New York History takes readers on a grand trip into the history of three upstate New York resorts communities, Ballston Spa, Caldwell at Lake George and Saratoga Springs. Ballston Spa and Caldwell on Lake George were products of land developers who saw tourism as a way to success. But neither town invested in the infrastructure to make tourism work. Saratoga Springs did provide the amenities, with lavish hotels amid parks and pleasure gardens. It was also blessed with a strong work force, particularly in the numbers of Irish women ready to staff the resorts. -Waterbury Republican (CT) cuts through the nostalgic haze and localized thought surrounding usual resort histories with the searching investigations and rigorous scholarship we have come to expect from the very best of modern urban studies.-Ellen Weiss, author of City in the Woods: The Life and Design of an American Camp Meeting on Martha's Vineyard A book notable for its attention to the development of the infrastructure of resorts-hotels and boarding houses, spaces, and service facilities-as well as the African American and Irish women and men whose labors supported the leisure of visitors. - David Schuyler, Franklin & Marshall College How did the rise of lavish hotels and spas reflect the changing values of American society during the nineteenth century? Historians have argued that resorts were created to meet the demands of a leisured social elite. Theodore Corbett demonstrates that resorts created and re-created themselves to keep pace with changing times. Success came with anticipating demands, not just reacting to them Corbett focuses on the conditions underlying the rise-and demise-of the resorts at Ballston Spa and Caldwell on Lake George. Both towns' major landlord-developers saw tourism as only one vehicle that could lead to success. As a result of their divided policies, neither town invested in the proper infrastructure to make tourism work. Saratoga Springs, however, was able to supply the amenities needed to attract the well-heeled. The town provided visitors with lavish hotels, parks, and pleasure gardens. It also had a workforce that was available for the five-month period per year that the spas were active. Corbett examines the participation of African Americans, Irish, and Native Americans in the resort's service sector The book also stresses middle-class America's emulation of the leisure habits of the English aristocracy. Even though these pursuits (hunting and horse racing) were dominated by men, social rituals were dominated by women, and resorts that accommodated public domesticity thrived as the century progressed. Theodore Corbett teaches history at Adirondack Community College and is former director of the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation.