State

Old-time Mineral Springs At one lime there were quite a number of these resort phicc*s sen tiered throughout the state, hut at llie present lime there art» only two or three still in operation. By WltS. MAX ABERAETIIY IX KRAI. SPRINGS «ore to the older generation in North Carolina what vitamins are to ns today. They were thought to be a panacea for whatever ailed you, and going to one of the state’s well known watering places in the summer was as inevitable as hog killing time or Christinas. Early society was more or less divided into two classes; those who went to the springs each year and those who did not. These yearly pil¬ grimages to the healing waters were high spots in the life of every well- to-do North Carolinian as can be seen by this article which appeared in the Southern Weekly Post under the date line of July 2, 1853: "The ‘springs season* is almost at hand. Soon the moneyed part of our |w>pulation, who have time at their command, will lx- moving off on vari¬ ous lines of travel in pursuit of health and excitement at the numerous wa¬ tering places." One of the first of these watering places in North Carolina to attract visitors as far hack as 1850 was known as Warm Springs, the name of which later was changed to Hot Springs, which were located in Madi¬ son County, west of Marshall. The springs had been accidentally discov¬ ered in 1778 by Henry Reynolds and Thomas Morgan. These two men were there to keep an eye on the activities of the Indians. While searching for some stolen horses they left their own mounts on the north hank and waded across the river. On the southern shore, in passing through a little branch, they were surprised to find the water was warm. They must have proved themselves good press agents, for in the next few years many invalids came seek¬ ing the warm springs. It is even re¬ corded that following his graduation from Washington College in Tennes¬ see, Zebulon II. Vance took over the duties of clerk at the Spring's hotel. In a grant signed by Governor Samuel Johnston in 1700 we read that a tract of 200 acres of land on the south -ide of the French Broad, including Warm Springs, was con¬ veyed to Ga-cr l>ngg. After changing The hotel at Seven Springs, Wayne County, which at the present time is the largest hotel at any “springs” in North Carolina, to / hands several times the property was sold to John E. Ration for something over twenty thousand dollars. Mr. Patton built a hotel near the springs facing the left bank and for years it was a showpiece, being a very pre¬ tentious building with thirteen large pillars in front to represent the thir¬ teen states. Early circulars toll us that by 1850 guests at Warm Springs were num¬ bered at more than live hundred, but only about fifty of them were Tar¬ heels; that our people seemed to pre¬ fer to run off up North or to Vir¬ ginia rather than enjoy the benefits of western North Carolina. The Springs have recently been reopened. Along in 1S27 Robert Henry and bis slave Sam, while hunting, dis¬ covered a line sulphur spring about five miU-s from Asheville, which aft¬ erwards became known as Heaver's Springs from the fact that the son- in-law of the discoverer. Colonel Reu¬ ben Heaver, built a wooden hotel above the spring and opened it up for summer trade. Business was immediately good. So good, in fact, that an addition to the hotel had to Ik* inado almost every year, and even then the genial host was hard put to accommodate his guests who came bv the hundreds. He had to ransack the neighborhood for beds, bedding and chairs and even provisions. South Carolina headed the list of the guest states that patronized Heaver’s Springs, with the Pickney family at the top of the list. The fact that the Pickney* were almost con¬ stant visitors seems to explain the prevalence of the given name “Pink" around Asheville. The guests finally overran thu hotel and had to be housed in cabins, so great Itocame llie popu¬ larity of Denver’s Spring. Prom its opening until 18(10 there were more visitors to the springs than in Ashe¬ ville. The old hotel was burned in 1S62 and rebuilt in 1887 and was finally burned again in 1891. Down in Warren County two other mineral springs gathered considerable prestige and history for themselves !