Galway’s first settlers were Scottish.

 

The first settlers lived on Sacandaga Road, south of the village.

 

John McClelland was one of the original settlers, the first storekeeper in the town, and a member of the State Assembly for Saratoga County.

 

The first store in the town opened in 1780.  It was located on the first four corners south of the village.  A state marker now marks this location on Route 147.

 

The first burial in the Galway Cemetery was that of James Major in 1774.  He died in an accident when a tree fell on him.

 

The earliest church building in the town, still standing at its original site, was built in 1814.  It is the Christian Church on Mechanic Street.

 

In 1840, the population of the Town of Galway was 2,638.

 

In Galway 1840, the category of livestock with the largest number was sheep, at 6,348.

 

In 1840 Galway, there were 17 grist mills, saw mills and fulling mills (to shrink and thicken cloth, esp of wool with moisture, heat and pressure).

 

At one time, a steam mill or a hub factory was located at the present site of the Village Firehouse.  It ceased operation because there was a lack of proper sized elm trees.

 

Abram Hodgson and Nathaniel Hudson, father and son, both manufactured stoneware during the 19^th century in Galway.  The operation ceased about 1860.

 

Parkis Mills moved it’s operations to Ballston Lake in 1926 because access to the railroad became possible.

 

Waterwheel Village on Route 29 was once a plow factory.

 

Most owners of mills in Galway during the 19^th century were also farmers, and did work only on order, and produced several different products.

 

St. Mary’s church in Galway was once located on South Street next to the present firehouse.

 

Fires in Galway have destroyed the Galway Seminary, the firehouse, and the Presbyterian Church.

 

Until the fire of 1908, a row of buildings stood on the north edge of the Village Park.  These buildings included a general store, a harness shop, and a hotel.

 

During the early 20^th century, the cash crop in Galway was buckwheat.

 

The Joseph Henry Elementary School was named after a man who only lived in Galway for a few years, invented the electromagnet, and became the first Superintendent of the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.

 

Phyliss Keeler

Town Historian