Strategically located at the joining of the Hudson and Hoosac Rivers, Stillwater was the site of the Battles of Saratoga in 1777, which took place in the northern part of the town and led to the defeat of the British during the Revolutionary War. Stillwater became an official town on March 7, 1788, and the village was later incorporated in 1816. During the 19th century, the opening of the canals along the Hudson River spurred industry in the community. The town was also an educational center, with Stillwater Academy that flourished for many years. By the 20th century, Stillwater residents became more mobile, finding work outside town, and the mills and factories began to close. Today Stillwater is known as a bedroom community with a bright future. Title: "Place of the Still Waters" Author: Leigh Hornbeck Publisher: Times Union Date: 2/25/2009 Linda Sanders in Stillwater is the latest local historian to add her expertise to the "Images of America" series. Arcadia Publishing will release Sanders' book, "Stillwater," next week. For Linda, it is the fulfillment of the "prophecy" written in her high school yearbook, senior year, which forecast Sanders would someday write about history for a magazine. Now, 50 years after she graduated from Stillwater Central School, her dream has come true in the form of a book. Sanders dedicated the book to "everyone who has ever lived, lives, or will live in this wonderful town." She wrote a brief history of the town and selected historical photographs to fill more than 115 pages. The pictures capture the serious moments in Stillwater history - the shell of the Newland Saratoga Knitting Mill in 1904 after it was gutted by fire - and the lighthearted as well. There are three photographs in the book of Pete the goose, who had his run of Stillwater village and befriended a neighborhood dog. Sanders wrote each caption in the folksy manner in which she speaks, with clear affection for her hometown. Sanders said her favorite picture is of the Rev. Lemuel Powers' skeleton. She laughed as she talked about it and said it might seem morbid to choose a picture of a man's remains as her favorite, but she liked it because it's different than the typical historical portrait. Powers was buried in the Manger Cemetery but exhumed in 1937 and reburied near the church he founded, the First Baptist Church (gone now) on Route 423. "I love the last photo in the book too, of all of us who worked to move the Blockhouse," Sanders said, referring to the day in 1999 when the Stillwater Blockhouse Committee hired a crew to move the blockhouse, a replica of a fortress used during the French and Indian War, from the Saratoga National Historical Park to a village park on routes 4 and 32. Sanders will appear at two book signing events; 1:30 p.m. March 29 at the Saratoga National Historical Park (the battlefield) and 6 p.m. March 31 at the Stillwater Public Library. "Stillwater," from Arcadia Publishing, will be available beginning March 2 at local bookstores and online for $21.99. Go to http://www.arcadiapublishing.com to order or call 888-313-2665. Title: Stillwater historian digs into town's history Author: Kathy Bowen Publisher: Daily Gazette Date: 2/25/2009 When Stillwater Historian Linda Sanders says her new book bares the bones of the town's past, she's not kidding. In Stillwater's case, the bones belonged to the father-in-law of Millard Fillmore, the nation's 13th president. Sanders said the Rev. Lemuel Powers was the father of first lady Abigail Powers Fillmore. Lemuel Powers died in 1800, and his body was exhumed in 1937 and moved to another cemetery in town nearer to the church where he had preached on Route 423. When Powers was exhumed, his skeletal remains were displayed briefly near his grave. Former Stillwater Historian Susan Hayner wrote a description of the events and took photographs of the bones. One of those photographs appears in Sanders' book. Hayner was town historian from 1926 to 1971, Sanders said Tuesday: "Her work and the work of my other predecessors made putting this book together possible." The newly published book, titled "Stillwater," is the latest in a series published by Arcadia Publishing called "Images of America." The New Hampshire publishing house also has printed historical books about the Saratoga County communities of Wilton, Malta, Saratoga Springs, Clifton Park and Saratoga Springs. Sanders said she was contacted by the publishing house last year and asked if she would like to put the book together. She said there was no up-front cost to print the book because the publisher will take a portion of each sale. The profits from the book will be donated to the Blockhouse Museum, Sanders said. The book will sell for $22, including tax, and will be available in a couple of weeks. The Blockhouse Museum on Route 4 in Stillwater overlooks the Hudson River and is owned by the town but run by a volunteer committee. Sanders was the former town historian and now wo