From the Introduction:

Fans of Saratoga County history enjoy a fairly comprehensive set of books, newspapers, databases, and research that have been compiled over the past hundred and fifty years. The works of Nathaniel Bartlett Sylvester on the early history of the county from its founding to the late 1800s may be considered definitive and would be difficult to improve upon. Saratoga County Heritage brought the county’s history into the 1900s, while the Saratogian newspaper has provided an ongoing record of events to the present time. With these sources and the many others that exist, a nearly complete history of the county can be learned.

This book is an attempt to study its history from a different perspective. The inventions of Saratoga County can provide unique insights into what was important in the lives of its citizens. The change from agriculture to manufacturing to suburbia is evident in the patent record. The earliest inventions were mainly for farming implements and carpenter’s tools. As the industrial revolution crept up New York State with the railroads, emphasis was placed on machinery for the production of goods. When manufacturing died out in the early to mid-1900s, industrial patents for local companies came to a halt, to be replaced by patents filed in the name of large corporations located in nearby cities.

Another goal is to reintroduce some of the county’s greatest inventors and innovators. People with even a passing interest in local history have heard of Charles Dowd’s invention of Standard Time, George Crum’s “Saratoga Chips,” and George West’s invention of the square-bottomed paper bag. But time has all but forgotten Henry Miller of Waterford, arguably the greatest inventor in the history of Saratoga County. Ransom Cook is fairly well-known for his invention of the auger bit, but few are aware of his contributions to the art of stenciling, magnetic engines, and cannons. Only the most avid historians are aware that Theodore Timby of Saratoga had an invention that was instrumental in one of the most famous sea battles in history.

The sheer number of inventions is staggering. Many thousands have been patented over the last two centuries, and very likely thousands of others were never patented. The most famous unpatented invention was the “Saratoga Chip,” which unfortunately casts doubt as to the true inventor. Numerous references are made to unpatented inventions in the records of the county, but like the “Saratoga Chip,” they often cannot be corroborated independently. Therefore, this book focuses for the most part on those inventions that were formally patented.