Saratoga Springs Postcard

Saratoga Springs, also known as simply Saratoga, is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The city is perhaps best known for the Saratoga Race Course which opened on August 3, 1863. Before racing began in Saratoga, the area's natural mineral springs had been attracting summertime visitors for many decades. These springs were believed to have healing powers. The Lincoln Baths was one such place people would go to be treated with the waters. The bath house has since been transformed into an office building, but still exists and can be visited to this day. The spa treatments also are being continued in a new bath house in the Spa State Park called the Roosevelt Baths. Springs can be found all over town. Most of the springs are covered by small pavilions and marked by plaques; others, however, are less conspicuous, sometimes just a spigot in a rock. The springs are famous for their varied and distinct tastes: some are clear freshwater, others are saltier, and some taste strongly of a certain mineral such as sodium bicarbonate or sodium chloride. There is a sulfur odor but mineral analysis of the water consistently shows almost no presence of dissolved sulfur, because the sulfur is in the form of the gas hydrogen sulfide, which degasses from the water very quickly. Visitors are welcome to bottle the spring water for personal consumption.