Saratoga Springs the town that almost was along the James River Valley
BY JOY POWERS

As we end this series with the 14th story of history along the Back Roads project for County Road 63, it brings us to a place that might have been.

Nearly 120 years ago a pioneer ventured into the Dakota Territory. He stopped in an area south of Jamestown in the James River Valley. Here Thomas S. Collins saw a vision and set about to make his dream come true. With settlers moving to the Dakota Territory, he began to platte out a town. In 1881 Saratoga Springs was entered into the plat books of Stutsman and LaMoure counties. The area had been surveyed to bring the railroad in, but there it lay, a vast open prairie waiting to be settled.

The only dwelling to be found anywhere near the newly platted townsite was that of Trapper John’s shack that he used during the long, cold Dakota Territory winters. With his dream in mind, Collins set out to attract more people to Saratoga Springs. He created a promotional "newspaper" full of enticing stories and ads saying "For the next 30 days we offer Choice Town Lots worth ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS for FIFTY!" The paper was sent out and the wait was on.

The "Saratoga Banner" told of its class of settlers as " the best that have ever before set out to capture the border. Nine out of ten, throughout all this section, and as far west as the James River, are from Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, or Illinois and are American born citizens. We have not seen a rough, a tramp, or a bummer among them, and nearly all come with teams to break, and means to live until they can raise a crop, and many that came here had means enough to open up a large farm at once. The prompt, decisive men, who drop everything and come at once, will win."

Collins’ description of Saratoga Springs told the pioneers, "located on a beautiful plat of high, rolling prairie, interspersed with fine timber, on the charming James River, an unfailing stream of pure water. The location of Saratoga Springs is most beautiful and healthy, and one of the most desirable in Northern Dakota, offering natural parks, excellent drainage and abundance of pure water at all seasons of the year. Men who live in Jamestown recognize Saratoga Springs’ future importance and back their judgement with cash."

Not much building was happening in Saratoga Springs yet but it was early. A school had been built in the northeast part and by 1882 a building had been constructed to hold the post office and general store with living quarters. In his "Saratoga Banner" Collins told the prospective pioneers about the construction of a blacksmith shop and the hopes of building a mill damn nearby on the beautiful river. He also told them, "Saratoga Springs cannot help but make one of the, if not the most prominent towns in Northern Dakota, and those looking for investments should not lose any time, but act at once."

The wait was on. Collins had a dream and was determined to make it happen. In the green and grassy meadow of the valley with an underground water table that was root high or higher, it’s believed that this is the reason Saratoga Springs never came to be. Collins used those springs as a selling point, "high enough and plentiful enough to pipe water into the highest garret of any house in the village," the Saratoga Banner bragged. He told the new prospects the springs were "medicinal" and explained how the Sioux Indians were known to have used them for healing and curing diseases for hundreds of years.

As the railroad began to come through the area, the cost of bringing the railroad to the still silent town of Saratoga Springs became impossible. The tracks would have to be laid through the "swamp." The runoff of the springs that saturated the ground until they reached the James River prevented vehicles of any type from get through, even during the long, frozen winters of the Dakota Territory.

As the railroads surveyed the land, they had no choice but to build on the south side of the James River up the Valley to Jamestown. A man’s dream shattered. A man’s vision blinded. Saratoga Springs was never to be. The promises and hopes the "Saratoga Banner" bragged were left behind.

By March, 1908 a petition was filed to vacate Saratoga Springs stated "That Louis Schwartz is now the owner of all of the lots and blocks in said townsite consisting of Blocks 1 to 17 inclusive, And, therefore, vacating all streets, alleys and blocks in said plat in the said townsite of Saratoga Springs above described."

The springs still run and the beauty still remains in the James River Valley today. The 43 acres that had been platted so many years ago still remains, although some of this land has been farmed, a part of the little town still remains untouched and saturated by the springs. No buildings remain, no traces of the town can be seen, only a living history of Saratoga Springs that Thomas S. Collins tried so hard to begin in the Dakota Territory 120 years ago remains.

This concludes the series of stories written along LaMoure County Road 63 in the James River Valley. A valley full of history and memories, a valley immersed in beauty and awe, not to be taken for granted but enjoyed by all.