Minnehaha Springs, West Virginia

Last updated

Minnehaha Springs
USA West Virginia location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Minnehaha Springs
Location within the state of West Virginia
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Minnehaha Springs
Minnehaha Springs (the United States)
Coordinates: 38°9′47″N79°58′51″W / 38.16306°N 79.98083°W / 38.16306; -79.98083 Coordinates: 38°9′47″N79°58′51″W / 38.16306°N 79.98083°W / 38.16306; -79.98083
Country United States
State West Virginia
County Pocahontas
Time zone UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
  Summer (DST) UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP codes
24960
GNIS feature ID1552164 [1]

Minnehaha Springs is an unincorporated community located in Pocahontas County, West Virginia, United States. It was named for the fictional Native American "princess," Minnehaha, [2] and the mineral springs on the Lockridge farm. It is the only community with this name in the United States. On the site of what is now Camp Twin Creeks warm mineral springs can still be found.

Contents

History

Early history

Reportedly residents found Indian relics near the mineral springs in the region, which is why it was named Minnehaha, after a Native American maiden. [3] Thermal springs were often sacred places for Native Americans, and they believed in the healing powers of the water. Most major thermal springs in the United States have some kind of record of use by local Native American tribes. [4] Springs were neutral ground where tribes could rest after a battle.

The Lockridge family found the Minnehaha springs on their farmland, and they tested the water first in 1891 and then again in 1910. [5] The results revealed that the water had similar chemical characteristics to the water of the Hot Springs in Bath County, Virginia and of Bethesda Spring in Waukesha, Wisconsin. [6] The Lockridge family created the Pocahontas Mineral Water Development Company and began selling bottled mineral water. [5] The water was advertised as “pure” with “medicinal virtue,” and the advertisement promised that “the most delicate stomach can retain it.” The spring's waters were used to aid with eczema, diabetes, and all forms of Bright's disease. The spring water was found to be abundant with silica and calcium carbonate. [7]

The Railroad

In 1900 a new railroad station in Marlinton, due to the completion of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway's Greenbrier Division, placed Minnehaha Springs in a more accessible position for travelers and tourists. In order to attract tourists, spring resorts and tourist resorts in general, had to be easy-to-get-to. In the nineteenth century, spring proprietors were involved in transportation improvements within their surrounding area. [8] They lobbied for the development of railroads, turnpikes, river networks, and canals. Sometimes spring proprietors would work directly with railroad companies in order to establish rail stations within close distance of their resorts. The importance these transportation networks were for business is reflected in the increased presence of spring visitors in the late 1870s and 1880s when rail travel was becoming easier and more frequent. [8]

Turn-of-the-century Tourism

Minnehaha Springs Hotel

By 1914, the Lockridge family built a hotel overlooking the spring, as well as a bath house and an indoor pool. The Lockridge family hired Casa Ybel, the proprietors of a winter resort in Sanibel, Florida to manage the resort. [3] The spring was said to flow a million gallons in a day with a temperature of seventy-two degrees Fahrenheit. The spring's water was contained in a concrete pool and guided to a modern bathhouse. The spring had been inaccessible to the public, but with the new railway and roads in place, visitors could arrive at the hotel within thirty-five minutes. An automobile service from Marlinton could take guests to the hotel from the rail station. Minnehaha Springs could now “take its place among the sisterhood of summer resorts which has made the two Virginias famous.” [9]

A resident physician was on the property daily, and a separate building was provided for those who needed the curative properties of the water. [9] The combination of the “drinking cure” and the “bathing cure” assured guests that their illness or condition was no match for the Minnehaha waters.

The Minnehaha Springs hotel probably attracted a middle-class clientele. It was small in size but had modern conveniences such as its own electric water plant, modern plumbing, hot and cold running water and call bells in each room. It was two stories with twenty-four bedrooms. [3] A tennis course, golf course, pool table, cards, music, dancing, and picnic spots were included on the resort grounds. A swimming pool and a bathhouse flowed with Minnehaha water. Livery teams, riding horses, and automobiles were also available for guests. Telephone communication with Marlinton and the delivery of telegrams and parcels allowed visitors to connect with the outside world.

The Minnehaha Springs hotel was not very successful and was transformed into a summer camp for boys in 1944. The hotel building burned down in 1945. In 2001, the summer camp was purchased by Gordon Josey and his wife, became co-ed, and is now named Twin Creeks. Previously, the summer camp had been named Camp Minnehaha, and had been operating from as early as the 1930s. The Minnehaha Springs hotel was the very first “facility in Pocahontas County built and operated strictly for the tourist business." [10]

The Allegheny Sportsmen's Association

The Allegheny Sportsmen's Association in Minnehaha Springs, West Virginia was organized in 1912 by J. A. Viquesnay, the State Warden, and H. M. Lockridge. Their charter set their purpose not "of exterminating the fast vanishing wild life of West Virginia, but, on the contrary, with the primary intention of demonstrating the possibilities of propagating and increasing all species of song and insectivorous birds, game birds, animals and fish, and assisting in protecting the forests from fire, and thus restoring the attractive wild life and the picturesque forests of West Virginia to their original beauty and grandeur." [11]

In their advertising pamphlet issued soon after its creation, the Allegheny Sportsmen's Association explained that “a great majority of the members of this association are not sportsmen from the standpoint of killing game, but are sportsmen from the standpoint of helping to perpetuate some of the wild life of West Virginia for future generations.” [11] As this statement and the association's name suggests, an emphasis of the club was to unite sportsmen.

Elk from Yellowstone

On January 9 and February 6, 1913, carloads of elk from Yellowstone National Park were transported to the Allegheny Sportsmen's Association in Minnehaha Springs. A total of 67 elk were safely housed in Minnehaha Springs. [12] The elk were confined in an enclosure until they were acclimated to their surroundings, at which time they were released on the property of the Allegheny Sportsmen's Association. [13]   West Virginia's State Warden J. A. Viquesnay, one of the founders of the Allegheny Sportsmen's Association, organized the transfer. [14]

In fact, these elk from Yellowstone were not the first elk the Sportsmen's Association transported to their grounds. Prior to the federal transfer, 15 elk, 14 females and 1 male, had been shipped to Minnehaha Springs from Iowa, in order to analyze their adaptation to the environment. [15] When it appeared they were thriving and produced eight calves, the Association was deemed fit to receive the Yellowstone elk. By 1932, the elk transported from Yellowstone had disappeared.

The Club House

The Allegheny Sportsmen's Association built a luxurious club house in 1913, and it opened on July 1, 1914 to accommodate the association's members and their families. [16] The club house was four stories, fifty by sixty feet, and was equipped with modern conveniences. It contained a kitchen, dining room, and pool rooms in the basement along with two wood-burning fireplaces. The first floor housed a large club room with four wood-burning fireplaces to keep the room warm. The second and third floors were divided into bedrooms and described as being “nicely finished and furnished.” On the fourth floor was a large room used to accommodate visitors when the other rooms were crowded. Both the first and second floors had large porches filled with easy chairs, swings, and hammocks, and on the roof was a small garden used as an observatory with a sweeping view of the surrounding landscape. [11]

The club house was lit with an acetylene plant, and shower and bathtubs were supplied with hot and cold water. The water was pumped from a mineral spring in Minnehaha Springs, the location of the Minnehaha Springs hotel. Because the spring was at a higher elevation, there was good water pressure on all floors of the building. The one-hundred-acre park surrounding the club house was home to the herd of elk, deer, and other animals. Behind the clubhouse was a white pine grove where guests could lounge in camp chairs, swings, and hammocks beneath the trees. Bungalows were built by members further out in the woods in order to avoid long trips back to the hotel at night. In the surrounding grounds were two tennis courts, a golf course, a shooting trap, and a small garage for automobiles. Dog kennels were also on the property to house any canines used for hunting. [11]

The club house cost around $15,000 and was operated on “the plan of a first-class hotel with accommodations of one hundred and fifty.” Once the association built its club house, the Allegheny Club continued to acquire recognition. Visitors traveled from various parts of the state such as Marlinton, Cass, Wheeling, Philippi, Charleston, and Lewisburg. [17] Guests also traveled from Richmond, New York, Baltimore, Columbus, Cleveland, and Philadelphia. [18]

The club held dinners and dances frequently, attracting large crowds. [19] According to one article, fried chicken and waffle suppers were becoming quite famous at the club. [20] Often dances continued until after twelve o’clock, and punch, ice cream, and cake was served in the dining room late into the night. [21] Automobile parties made frequent trips to the Allegheny Club. [22] Membership increased rapidly in its early years, and some weekends the club was filled to capacity, requiring visitors to go to the adjacent hotel for sleeping accommodations. [23]

Interest in the Allegheny Club waned by the 1920s, and the National Forest received a large portion of their acreage. [24] In 1926, Harry R. Wyllie of Huntington, owner of the H. R. Wyllie China Company, acquired the lodge to use as a private estate. In 1946, Wyllie sold the property to the Standard Ultramarine Company, and in 1964 the lodge was shut down due to the sale of Standard Ultramarine. On October 17, 1983, the Allegheny Club burned to the ground. [25]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pocahontas County, West Virginia</span> County in West Virginia, United States

Pocahontas County is a county located in the eastern part of the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,869. Its county seat is Marlinton. The county was established in 1821. It is named after the daughter of the Powhatan chief of the Native Americans in the United States who came from Jamestown, Virginia. She married an English settler, and their children became ancestors of many of the First Families of Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marlinton, West Virginia</span> Town in West Virginia, United States

Marlinton is a town in and the county seat of Pocahontas County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 998 at the 2020 census. Located along the Greenbrier River, it is known for its scenic beauty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Webster Springs, West Virginia</span> Town in West Virginia, United States

Addison, commonly known as Webster Springs, is a town in and the county seat of Webster County, West Virginia, United States. Although it was incorporated as Addison in 1892, it is more frequently referred to as Webster Springs, the name of the town's post office. It was named for Addison McLaughlin, upon whose land the town was originally laid out. The population was 731 at the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Greenbrier</span> Resort hotel in West Virginia

The Greenbrier is a luxury resort located in the Allegheny Mountains near White Sulphur Springs in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monongahela National Forest</span> National forest in West Virginia, United States

The Monongahela National Forest is a national forest located in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, USA. It protects over 921,000 acres of federally managed land within a 1,700,000 acres proclamation boundary that includes much of the Potomac Highlands Region and portions of 10 counties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greenbrier River</span> River in West Virginia, United States

The Greenbrier River is a tributary of the New River, 162 miles (261 km) long, in southeastern West Virginia, in the United States. Via the New, Kanawha and Ohio rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of 1,656 square miles (4,290 km2). It is one of the longest rivers in West Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elk River (West Virginia)</span> River in West Virginia, United States

The Elk River is a tributary of the Kanawha River, 172 miles (277 km) long, in central West Virginia in the United States. Via the Kanawha and Ohio rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River.

Huntersville is a census-designated place (CDP) located in Pocahontas County, West Virginia, United States in the Alleghany Mountains. As of the 2010 census, its population was 73. It is located six miles east of Marlinton and four miles west of Minnehaha Springs. Huntersville received its name because it was a rendezvous for trappers and hunters who came to trade pelts for supplies. It served as the county seat of Pocahontas County until 1891 when the county's residents voted to move the seat to Marlinton. A local newspaper called "The Pocahontas Times" is distributed in the area.

Knapp Creek is a tributary stream of the Greenbrier River in Pocahontas County, West Virginia. Its source is east of the community of Frost on Allegheny Mountain. From its headwaters, Knapp Creek slowly flows down through farmland until its confluence with Laurel Creek at Minnehaha Springs. Downstream from the confluence of the two streams, Knapp Creek flows through Huntersville. Six miles from Huntersville, Knapp Creek empties into the Greenbrier River outside Marlinton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Omni Homestead Resort</span> United States historic place

The Omni Homestead Resort is a luxury resort in Hot Springs, Virginia, United States, in the middle of the Allegheny Mountains. The area has the largest hot springs in the commonwealth, and the resort is also known for its championship golf courses, which have hosted several national tournaments. The resort also includes an alpine ski resort; founded in 1959, it is the oldest in Virginia. The resort has been designated a National Historic Landmark; it has a history extending more than two and a half centuries. The Omni Homestead Resort is a member of Historic Hotels of America the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Allegheny Mountain Radio or AMR is a network of full service, freeform-formatted community radio stations broadcasting to portions of West Virginia and Virginia in the United States. The stations serve Pocahontas County, West Virginia as well as Bath County, Virginia and Highland County, Virginia.

Richardson Springs is an unincorporated community in Butte County, California. It is located on Mud Creek 8.5 miles (13.7 km) north-northeast of Chico, at an elevation of 620 feet. The place is named for J.H. and Lee Richardson, who founded mineral spas here in 1898. A post office was opened in 1933.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adams, California</span> Resort in California, United States

Adams is an unincorporated community in Lake County, California. It was formerly Adams Springs, a summer resort developed around a small group of mineral water springs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Castle Rock Springs, California</span> Unincorporated community in California, United States

Castle Rock Springs was a resort Lake County, California built around a group of mineral springs, including one hot spring with relatively high volumes of water.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Highland Springs, Lake County, California</span> Unincorporated community in California, United States

Highland Springs is a set of springs which was turned into a resort in the 19th century in Lake County, California. The resort grew to be able to accommodate 200 people, attracted by the curative powers of the mineral waters and the lovely mountain scenery. In the 1920s its popularity waned, the hotel was partly burned, and it passed through various hands before the county claimed eminent domain, bought the property, and flooded it with the Highland Springs Reservoir. The reservoir is surrounded by the Highland Springs Recreation Area, managed by the county.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hough Springs, California</span> Unincorporated community in California, United States

Hough Springs is a set of springs that was turned into a resort in the 19th century in Lake County, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saratoga Springs, California</span> Unincorporated community in California, United States

Saratoga Springs is a set of springs that was turned into a resort in the 1870s in Lake County, California. At its peak the resort could accommodate 250 people. The resort was closed after the main hotel burned down, but reopened as a retreat in 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seigler Springs, California</span> Unincorporated community in California, United States

Seigler Springs is a set of springs in Lake County, California around which a resort developed in the 19th century. In the 1930s the resort was expanded, and in 1947 an airport opened nearby. The resort declined in the 1960s. Part of it was separated out and became a residential subdivision, while part became a religious retreat. The 2015 Valley Fire caused great damage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Historic Hotels of America</span> National Trust for Historic Preservation program

Historic Hotels of America is a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation that was founded in 1989 with 32 charter members; the program accepts nominations and identifies hotels that have maintained their authenticity, sense of place, and architectural integrity. In 2015, the program included over 260 members in 44 states, including the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In 2022, the program includes 273 hotels. This article lists current and former member hotels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allen Springs, California</span> Place in California, United States

Allen Springs is a group of mineral water springs in Lake County, California. From 1874 the springs were surrounded by a resort with a hotel, cottages, saloon, store and so on. The resort was turned into a private club in 1912 and had been abandoned by 1940. By 2021 the site had returned to nature.

References

  1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Minnehaha Springs, West Virginia
  2. Kenny, Hamill (1945). West Virginia Place Names: Their Origin and Meaning, Including the Nomenclature of the Streams and Mountains. Piedmont, WV: The Place Name Press. p. 419.
  3. 1 2 3 Cohen, Stan (1981). Historic springs of the Virginias: A pictorial history. Pictorial Histories Publishing Company. p. 151.
  4. Erfurt-Cooper, Patricia; et al. (2009). Health and Wellness Tourism: Spas and Hot Springs. Channel View Publications. p. 98.
  5. 1 2 McColloch, Jane S. (1986). Springs of West Virginia. West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey. p. 29.
  6. "Allegheny Lodge: Looking Back on a Lost Landmark in Pocahontas". The Pocahontas Times. December 19, 1991.
  7. Pamphlet for Minnehaha Springs, Ephemera Collection, P7974, West Virginia and Regional History Center, Morgantown, West Virginia.
  8. 1 2 Chambers, Thomas A. (2002). Drinking the Waters: Creating an American Leisure Class at Nineteenth-Century Mineral Springs. Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press. p. 53.
  9. 1 2 Pamphlet for Minnehaha Springs, Ephemera Collection, P6705, West Virginia and Regional History Center, Morgantown, West Virginia.
  10. McNeel, William P. (October 20, 2010). "Minnehaha Springs". e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Pamphlet for the Allegheny Sportsmen’s Association, Ephemera Collection, P3652, West Virginia and Regional History Center, Morgantown, West Virginia.
  12. “More Elk,” The Pocahontas Times, February 6, 1913.
  13. West Virginia: Messages of Governor Glasscock to Legislature of 1913 and Governor Hatfield to Legislature of 1915 and Reports and Documents Covering Fiscal Years Ending September 30, 1913 and June 30, 1914, Volume 3, Tribune Printing Company, 1915, 278.
  14. “Propagation of Big Game in West Virginia,” The Pocahontas Times, January 9, 1913.
  15. Letter from T. S. Palmer to J. A. Viquesnay in Third Biennial Report of the Forest, Game, and Fish Warden of West Virginia 1913-1914 by J. A. Viquesnay, Tribune Printing Company, 1915.
  16. “The Allegheny Club,” The Pocahontas Times, July 16, 1914.
  17. “The Allegheny Club,” The Pocahontas Times, July 16, 1914; “The Allegheny Club,” The Pocahontas Times, July 30, 1914; “The Allegheny Club,” The Pocahontas Times, August 13, 1914.
  18. “The Allegheny Club,” The Pocahontas Times, July 16, 1914; “The Allegheny Club,” The Pocahontas Times, August 6, 1914; “The Allegheny Club,” The Pocahontas Times, August 13, 1914; “The Allegheny Club,” The Pocahontas Times, July 1, 1915.
  19. “The Allegheny Club,” The Pocahontas Times, July 23, 1914; “Allegheny Club,” The Pocahontas Times, August 27, 1914; “The Allegheny Club,” The Pocahontas Times, October 8, 1914; “The Allegheny Club,” The Pocahontas Times, November 12, 1914; “The Allegheny Club,” The Pocahontas Times, July 1, 1915; “Allegheny Club,” The Pocahontas Times, August 12, 1915; “Allegheny Club,” The Pocahontas Times, September 9, 1915.
  20. “The Allegheny Club,” The Pocahontas Times, July 30, 1914.
  21. “Allegheny Club,” The Pocahontas Times, August 27, 1914.
  22. “The Allegheny Club,” The Pocahontas Times, July 16, 1914; “The Allegheny Club,” The Pocahontas Times, July 23, 1914; “The Allegheny Club,” The Pocahontas Times, August 13, 1914; “The Allegheny Club,” The Pocahontas Times, October 8, 1914.
  23. “The Allegheny Club,” The Pocahontas Times, July 30, 1914; “The Allegheny Club,” The Pocahontas Times, July 23, 1914; “The Allegheny Club,” The Pocahontas Times, July 1, 1915.
  24. Robinson, Ed (2007). Historic Inns of Southern West Virginia. Arcadia Publishing. p. 32.
  25. Brown, Leona Gwinn (January 11, 2016). "Allegheny Lodge". e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia. Retrieved November 20, 2018.