The hotel built in 1792 by Benajah Douglas was a forty by thirty foot, simple Georgian structure with a two story front porch and a kitchen addition in the back.  In 1795, Douglas sold the building and by 1796 it was purchased by Joshua Aldridge who would operate it as Aldridge's Hotel for the next forty  years. 
     In 1800, Abigail May  stayed at Aldridge's while in Ballstown Spring taking the "cure" from the mineral springs.  (Learn more about mineral springs)  In an excerpt from her journal,  Abby May described the hotel as follows:

(Click here for journal transcription and floor plans of Aldridge's in 1800)
     Between 1800 and 1836, many guests stayed at the Aldridge Hotel.  But by the 1830s, the mineral springs were not working properly and Ballston Spa declined as a resort community.  In
1844 the Aldridge Hotel closed.           
         

The hotel as it may have appeared in 
1792, seen from the northeast.
             Historic Structure Report