Katrina Trask (1853-1922) was by any measure a remarkable woman. She was a poet, playwright and pacifistâand an indomitable soul. She and husband Spencer Trask experienced numerous triumphs and tragedies in their life together, but each time they were burned they rose again, phoenix-like, to greater heights. In 1880, they lost their eldest child. Looking to escape sad memories, and experience the healthful countryside, they purchased a large estate on the outskirts of Saratoga Springs, which their daughter dubbed Yaddo. The family spent six happy summers there before the remaining children were also lost to illness. Then, just a few years later, the Yaddo house burned to the ground. Remarkably, the Trasks fought on. In 1893 they completed the great Yaddo mansion, and Katrina began to host salons for artists and intellectuals of the day. Then, in 1899, she had a vision that upon their passing, Yaddo should be given over entirely to supporting the arts, that it would be "a gift to those gifted with creative power." In the end, Katrina Trask was not defined by human tragedy, but the triumph of her creative spirit.