Saving History Saturday: Grant Cottage Acquires Additional Land

On Wednesday April 27, President Ulysses S. Grant’s 200th birthday, the New York Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation announced the transfer of 4 acres of the former Mount McGregor Correctional Facility to Grant Cottage. The facility, closed since 2014, surrounds Grant Cottage. The land being transferred at one time was the ballfield for the prisoners.

The new acreage includes the site of the original Hotel Balmoral, which was the first development on Mount McGregor in 1880 and was standing when Grant arrived in 1885 to finish his memoirs. It will also protect the viewshed of the cottage, which overlooks the Hudson River Valley and the Revolutionary War Saratoga battlefield. Grant died in the cottage just three days after finishing his memoirs.

Plans for the new acreage include the building of a 125-seat outdoor pavilion, accessible parking, and interpretation of the Hotel Balmoral. There is no timeline for the completion of the work, as additional funding needs to be found for that work.

Grant Cottage is located just below the summit of Mount McGregor, outside of Saratoga Springs, New York. It first opened as a historic site in 1890, with the support of funds raised by members of the Grand Army of the Republic and was granted National Historic Landmark Status in 2021. For more about Grant Cottage, visit their website.