The Great Northeast Journey
—Champlain Canal Region —
Victory
The Village of Victory sits perched on a bluff above the Hudson River, It owes its location to the highest waterfall on Fish Creek, the best waterpower site on the the creek's course from Saratoga Lake to the Hudson River. The Village incorporated in 1849, three years after the Saratoga Victory Manufacturing Company established extensive cotton mills at the "upper falls." The mill village soon developed its own distinctive personality.
Victory Mills began at the time of the first flood of Irish immigration, so many of the early mill hands were Irish. The "factory cemetery" established by the Saratoga Victory Manufacturing Company in 1846 holds many grave markers of that first generation. The Village grew quickly as French Canadians came south to find jobs. By 1900, the cotton mill employed 525 hands running 47,000 spindles and 1050 looms.
Victory Mills enjoyed a rich cultural life. The predominately Catholic population celebrated St. Jean Baptiste Day with a parade. A dramatic company organized "entertainments" in the opera house. The Victory Cornet Band played for the Fourth of July and other celebrations. But World War 1 marked the zenith for cotton mills. The mill closed in 1929 and shipped the machinery to Alabama. The mill produced folding cardboard cartoons from 1937 until 2000.
Places
of Interest:
- The Gerald H. Soloman Saratoga National Cemetery lies just a few miles south off of Route 4.
- Saratoga Siege Trail, located along Fish Creek tells the story of the American Siege of British General John Burgonyne in October 1777.
-Saratoga Surrender Site on the corner of Route 4 and Schuyler Street is where the British surrendered after the Battle of Saratoga
-In the North, Schuylerville commemorates its rich military history and features Hudson Crossing Park designed to merge recreation with education and environmental stewardship.
-Saratoga Monument crowns the hill above Victory and Schuylerville.
-Victory Woods, a part of Saratoga National Historical Park, marks the final encampment of the British Army under General John Burgoyne prior to their surrender.
-To the South, Stillwater is home to Saratoga Battlefield, turning point in the American Revolution.
-To the East, the rich agricultural heritage of Easton culminates at the Washington County Fair in August.
Right Hand Map:
"Locks to Lakes Passage" takes you through a spectacular landscape laden with history. Follow this map to find your way through four story-filled regions that connect the historic waters of Lake Champlain and Lake George with the Champlain Canal and the Hudson River to the the south and Chambly Canal to Richelieu and St.
Lawrence Rivers of Quebec to the north.
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