What was thought to be a case of senseless vandalism in Saratoga Springs turns out to be an honest mistake.

A marker that commemorates the city’s important role in the suffrage movement was knocked clean off its post.

It is located just north of the entrance to Congress Park and marks a location where a meeting where a meeting was called to form the New York State Woman Suffrage Association at the former Congress Hall – a major hotel in Congress Park. The event was a milestone in the push to get women the right to vote.

Saratoga Springs business owner Maddy Zanetti noticed the sign was broken, posted her own sign with the language seen on the original marker and alerted police who began investigating.

“For women’s rights and Women’s History Month, it really bothered me that that had happened,” she said.

NewsChannel 13 has learned that the sign was knocked down by a city Department of Public Works front-end loader that was removing snow.

The DPW is repairing the sign and plans to put it back up.