Donors like you are needed to help us raise at least $10,000 to help to “Preserve the Porch!”

Nestled in historic Ballston Spa, at the west end of fun and fashionable Front Street, sits the venerable Brookside Museum. This important hub of education, history and community today, was built in 1792, just four years after the ratification of the United States Constitution. The grand mansion sports eight white columns and a welcoming front porch. Few structures anywhere in Saratoga County are as iconic.

Brookside’s porch serves as a time machine for guests, transporting them from the early twenty-first century to the early nineteenth. The iconic porch is the first thing visitors see when they arrive, and where many public events are held throughout the year. To say that the porch is critically important to the structure’s stability, appearance, and functionality would be an understatement, however its importance is much more than that. The porch is where weavers gather to practice their craft, where children play with bygone toys, where musicians delight crowds, artisans ply their wares, and, most importantly, where guests enter the museum to engage with innovative and thought-provoking exhibits.

It is the gateway for thousands of museum members, students, visitors, Saratoga County residents, and donors like you to explore and experience our beloved County’s rich history.

Sadly, the iconic porch – the face of Brookside – is in desperate need of repair. Though renovations and remodels have occurred over the past century and a half, the entryway needs more than periodic upkeep. Specifically, all the front steps and floor boards, which are ruined by rot and mold, need to be replaced, as well as the deck frame supporting the floor. Moreover, the entire portico needs to be rebuilt for proper drainage, and the earth beneath should be covered with plastic and pea stone to reduce future moisture. This investment in the building’s future concerns both safety and appearance.

The total cost is estimated at $20,000 ($10,000 for material, the same for labor).To raise that sum, the Saratoga County History Center, which operates Brookside Museum, is launching a fundraising drive. “Preserve the Porch!” will begin November 4, and a long-time supporter of the History Center will match all funds donated.

Donors like you are needed to help us raise at least $10,000 to help to “Preserve the Porch!” A generous donor, and long-time supporter, will match every dollar donated up to $10,000. This is an important project, and we need your support!

As the Saratoga History Center is a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization, your generous donation is tax-deductible.