Waterford Village Historic District

Waterford Village Historic District takes in more than half of the incorporated village where the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers meet in Saratoga County, New York. It holds a complete community: mansions and factory workers' homes, churches, schools, government buildings, commercial blocks, mills and transportation structures. Broad Street forms the business center, with almost a dozen brick Federal buildings with stepped gables. Third Street includes the 1896 Robert Reis and Company mill with its corbeled brick tower, and nearby streets hold homes built by local industrialists. The village was first settled around 1633 and incorporated in 1794. Its waterpower, river trade and position as the southern terminus of the Champlain Canal around 1825 drove growth and the construction of fine homes, mills, churches and shops. Because that growth spanned changing tastes, the district blends Federal, Georgian, Empire, Greek Revival and early Victorian styles, held together by modest scale and closely spaced buildings on narrow streets.