Born in New York City and raised in Westchester County, Field Horne has resided in the same neighborhood in Saratoga Springs for almost 30 years. Though he’d prefer longer springs and summers, and milder winters, there’s no place Horne would rather be.

“Where else but in Saratoga Springs can I have the kind of environment to live in on a day to day basis that I have here?” he said. “What I like is a medium-sized city, not too large but not too small. So, basically the competition in my mind is Burlington and Ithaca, but this has become home.”

Even as a child history fascinated Horne. At Williams College in Massachusetts he studied American Civilization, and some years later he earned a Master’s in History Museum Studies from the Cooperstown Graduate Program.

After getting his bachelor’s degree, Horne wanted to go somewhere exotic. He tried Atlanta and a few other cities, but didn’t have any idea how to get a job and ended up back at home. Following a holiday sales job, the recent college graduate wound up working for the county government dealing with law books, which he knew nothing about and despised.

“The minute I started that job I started looking for another job,” Horne said.

Wanting to work in a museum of history, Horne found a job that fit his talents at Historic Hudson Valley as a researcher/interpreter. The woman who hired him wanted to know more about everyday life in their section of the Hudson Valley in the 18th century, so Horne split his time between managing farm animals and taking visitors and school groups on tours dressed in period clothing, and digging up information in libraries.

“I worked for her for four years, with a year out for graduate school. It was a great job and I enjoyed it a lot while it lasted,” he said.

Once he decided a change was necessary, Horne came to the Spa City. In March of 1978, he became the director of the Saratoga County Historical Society; he spent the next seven years attempting to improve Brookside Museum.

According to Horne the highly prestigious position came with an apartment without insulation, a miserably low salary, a building in wretched condition and almost no sources of income. He said that 30 years ago Ballston Spa was pretty depressed, and there wasn’t a strong tradition of fundraising in the town like there is in Saratoga Springs.

“I had to really struggle to put the building into good condition. Even today it’s not in the condition they want it to be in,” Horne said. “It was a challenging job, and I don’t regret it.”

Then, for seven years Horne took on a variety of interesting projects as a museum freelancer. Typically, he worked anywhere from a few days to several weeks for an institution; he did approximately 10 projects a year for as many different places.

During this time, he also learned the basics of carpentry. Although he never became a truly skilled carpenter, he picked up enough to finish restoring the house he’d bought while working at the SCHS.

In the summer of 1992, Horne applied for a fellowship at Yaddo, and was given it. For five weeks he lived there as a non-fiction writer, and started what became “The Saratoga Reader.”

During his stay at Yaddo, he also decided he was sick of freelancing and approached the director at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. For the next eight years, Horne served as the curator of that organization.

Despite it being a “very neat job,” Horne fittingly resigned on Labor Day in 2000. After spending three months traveling in Europe and then tackling an assortment of other projects, he went to work on The Encyclopedia of New York State for two-and-a-half years at the Syracuse University Press.

Horne, 56, continues to stay very busy. Over the last three years he’s built two homes, one for himself and one for some friends, and written three books.

His latest work is the second edition of “Saratoga Springs: The Complete Visitor’s Guide.” Released this past May, the pocket-sized guidebook is packed full great local places to eat, shop, and visit as well as little-known history and obscure facts.

Up to 1900, a guide book for Saratoga Springs was put out almost every year, Horne said. However, prior to his initial guide book in 2005 there had only been two such works issued in the last century.

The feedback he’s received regarding the guide book has been very positive. Horne said he’s planning to release a third edition in 2009 because the composition of the city changes regularly and quickly outdates the book.

“It’s a fun project and one that a lot of people like, buy and use,” he said.

A lifelong bachelor, Horne said he’s comfortable keeping his own company or socializing with his friends, and he enjoys the enormous amount of freedom he has because he travels frequently. Last week he returned from three weeks in Europe, and he’s considering a two month trip to New Zealand this winter. Since 1999, Horne has been traveling to Europe for two to four weeks.

Besides traveling abroad, Horne enjoys volunteering at his church, conducting family research and playing soccer. He said he’s very passionate about the sport he took up ten years ago, and hopes to continue playing for another couple decades.

And what’s next for Horne?

“I don’t have any idea what I’m going to do next actually,” he said. “I’m planning to do more custom construction and more writing, but exactly what and when is a bit unclear.”