State

The Elegant Times At Shocco Springs . . . « here was offered a dazzling whirl of romantic pleasures — not t€> mention the curative waters. By iii:i,e\ R. WATSOV Dancing and Fireworks At one of the many brilliant balls there in the 1850’s, confections were catered in Richmond and the music was said to have been second to none presented in the state. Additional guests, arriving both by private car¬ riage and the hotel hack on its return trip from Warrenton. crowded into the omate hotel and nearby cottages prior to one of these festivities. Dress was elaborate. At a September. 1857 ball the ladies came costumed as Queen of the Night. In incredible controit to tKe grond Me once lived here и the preient view trom Shocco'» elevation to the tpringi Wnteno and double violeti grow olong the poth. Maid of the Mist, the Gypsy, and Ban¬ dit’s Bride, to name a few. A gentle¬ man was a Sicilian Knight, Colonel of the Virginia Militia. Persian Lover. But Louis XIV of France was consid¬ ered the lion of the evening. Colonel W. H. H. Tucker of Raleigh, dressed as that sovereign, was costumed in “crimson velvet coat (and) vest cov¬ ered with tasty gold embroidery.” The reporter who covered the event inserted a cynical note. "Dr. Ritter, of New York, was Diogenes with his lamp in search of an honest man." He doubted if Diogenes succeeded and added. "If the Doctor don’t find him South, he may blow out his candle when he turns his face northward." A cotillion opened the dancing, which continued to midnight. Supper was served at ten. at which time Roman candles "squibs, and fiery ser¬ pents" were tired on the lawn before the hotel. Medieval Tournaments Outdazzling even the costume balls were the duplications of medieval tournaments. To Shocco Springs be¬ longs the distinction of presenting the first of these amusements that were to become highly popular among the fash¬ ionable set in the state. Until eleven on the morning of the tournament, carriages continued to tum off the Warrenton road to drive up to the hotel. At that hour trumpets an¬ nounced the start of the tournament. A marshal, distinguished by a pink scarf, led the competing knights to the judges’ stand where they were ad¬ dressed by Gen. Matt W. Ransom. Splendidly dressed and on superb mounts, the knights were viewed by one thousand spectators crowded under an arbor built for them. The tilting area, between the arbor and the judges’ stand, contained posts on cither side of the road with a rope between them, a rod about four feet long lay suspended from it. and a ring Brisk band music echoed through the grove, calling guests from the trails and springs, the pavilions, the card ta¬ bles and hotel bar. Three times each day musicians announced the lavishly set tables in the dining room at Shocco Springs in Warren County. Southward from Warrenton about nine miles and a little to the east by Big Shocco Creek, this resort was a mag¬ net to fashionable people in antebellum North Carolina. In rolling country, it was healthfully removed from the miasmic lowlands and pleasantly near Warrenton and Virginia. There were other spas in the state and in Virginia at the time, and Old Point Comfort and the Virginia moun¬ tains were also popular with the weal¬ thy. But Shocco in the 1800’s attracted and held hundreds of patrons. With their children and servants. they re¬ turned again and again, sometimes re¬ maining the entire season from June through a part of November. Invalids were drawn by the curative effects of the water there, the mineral analysis of which was said to equal any in the United States. But the young and some of the older patrons were there for other reasons. At Shocco. candidly stated the manager in 1853. could be found "for pleasure, every induce¬ ment." Gambling was a passion with the gentlemen, all night games being not uncommon. And a Raleigh newspaper declared it was an ideal place for lovemaking (genteel, no doubt). Romance bloomed there, and wedding en¬ gagements were frequently an¬ nounced. There was more. Sedate entertain¬ ment included fishing, walking, and divine worship on Sundays. But more exciting pastimes included bowling on the lawn for ladies, billiards for gen¬ tlemen. tableaux, balloon ascensions, fireworks, frequent suppers, parties, and costume balls. 22 THE STATE. APRIL 1978