The Salt Sulphur Springs

The text is from Appleton's Handbook of American Travel, The Southern Tour, published in 1866, by D. Appleton & Co., New York.

The Sweet Springs are in the eastern part of Monroe County, 17 miles southeast of the White Sulphur and 22 from the Salt Sulphur. They have been known longer than any other mineral watersin Virginia, having been discovered as early as 1764. So long ago as 1774 these waters were analyzed by Bishop Madison, then the President of William and Mary College. They lie in a lovely valley, five miles in length, and between a mile and half broad. The Alleghany Mountain bounds them on the north, and the Sweet Spring Mountain rises on the south. The hotel here is of noble extent, 250 feet long, with a dining hall of 160 feet. The Red Sweet Springs are a mile only from the Sweet Spring, just mentioned, on the way to the White Sulphur. This water is chalybeate, and a powerful agent in cases requiring a tonic treatment. The landscape here is most agreeable. A mile and a half from the Sweet Springs are the Beaver-dam Falls.

The text is from A History of Monroe County, by Oren F. Morten, published in 1816, Saunton, Va., Reprinted: Regional Publishing Company, Baltimore, 1974, 1980, 1988. Pages 201-210.

SWEET SPRINGS is the oldest, most permanent, and most interesting of the watering places of Monroe. James Moss, said to have been the first settler on the upper course of Dunlap, reared his cabin about 1760 near the mineral spring. He did not acquire title and disposed of his interest to William Lewis. Patent was issued in 1774. Like his more famous brothers, William Lewis was an indefatigable land prospector and secured choice tracts in several localities. But Sweet Springs was the spot he selected for a home. The Lewis brothers often conducted their land operations in partnership. So Thomas Lewis deeded to William in 1786 his interest in 1220 acres on "Sweet Springs Branch," the consideration being 1000 pounds, or $3333.33. The conveyance recites that a division had been agreed upon in the lifetime of Andrew Lewis, in whose hands had rested the deed of partition. The consideration in this instance was $200. This paper was not found among Andrew's effects, and an acknowledgment could not be made because of the suspension of courts of justice upon the dissolution of British authority in Virginia. The deed by Thomas affected all the Lewis land above the falls in Dunlap Creek.

After the restoration of peace, William Lewis began to develop Sweet Springs as a health resort. As a related step in his own interest, he offered to provide a home for the court of the circuit that embraced the counties of Botetourt, Greenbrier, Kanawha, and Montgomery. The inducements included a courthouse and a jail. Until these quarters should be built, which was done in 1795, the sessions of the court were to be held alternately at Fincastle and Lewisburg A view of the buildings was ordered to take place by May 1, 1796.

The plans of Lewis did not stop short of the creation of a town. Section Three of an Act of Assembly of December 16, 1790, thus reads:

That thirty acres of land on the southeast side of the Sweet Springs in the county of Botetourt, the property of William Lewis, shall be and they are hereby vested in James Breckenridge, Martin McFerran, Henry Bowyer, Matthew Harvey, John Beal, John Wood, John Smith, Robert Harvey, John Hawkins, Thomas Madison, and Sampson Sawyers, gentlemen trustees, to be by them, or a majority of them, laid off into lots of one-half acre each, with convenient streets, and establish a town by the name of Fontville.

As soon as laid off, the lots were to be advertised two months in the Virginia Gazette, and sold at public auction at the best price to be had. The title was to be conveyed in fee, and the money paid to the proprietor. Purchasers were to build within five years from the day of sale houses at least 16 feet square with chimneys of stone. The trustees were empowered to make rules for the building of houses, and it was left to them to pass upon boundary disputes. The Act contains these further provisions:

Section Eleven: And be it further enacted, that three acres of ground to include the said Sweet Springs, shall be and they are hereby vested in the trustees of the town at the said place, and their successors forever; in trust to and for the use of all such persons as may from time to time attend the same for the recovery of their health.

Section Twelve: No person shall hold more than two lots at the Sweet Springs, nor shall the trustees convey more than that number to any person. Provided always, that nothing herein contained shall be construed to authorize the trustees of the town at the Sweet Springs to sell the land whereon the courthouse of the said county and the tavern of the said William Lewis are built.

But Fontville did not spring into actual existence. Whether the movement were premature, or whether the public lacked the inclination to make it succeed, we have at this late day no certain knowledge. William Lewis has been styled the "civilizer of the frontier." He wished to establish a town that would be thoroughly attractive to seekers after health. No tannery, distillery, or butcher shop was to be permitted within its limits. Lewis was far-sighted, yet he met with much opposition.

Sweet Springs was the seat of the District Court only eleven years, and it was a period of discord. An Act of Assembly decreed the removal to Lewisburg by February 1, 1807. The proprietor of Sweet Springs and the county court of Greenbrier were each to appoint three commissioners to value the jail and other buildings erected by the proprietor for the use of the district court. When the amount of such valuation, collected by voluntary subscription or otherwise, should be paid to the clerk of Greenbrier for the use of the proprietor, or his legal representative, the clerk of Greenbrier was to certify the same to the next court at Sweet Springs, which court at the end of its term should adjourn to Lewisburg.

This removal was a result of an agitation that seems to have arisen at a very early date. The paragraph below is our digest of the report of a committee to examine into the title to the courthouse at Sweet Springs. The committee consisted of Samuel Blackburn, George Hancock, Augustus Woodward, Allen Taylor, Thomas Rowland, William H. Cavendish, and John Hutchinson. The diction of the paper is excellent and the criticism of Lewis seems reluctant. It was recorded October 21, 1799.

It is so usual to have the seats of superior courts at county seats, that in the few exceptions ample provision does not seem to have been made. This is peculiarly the case here. The court was to alternate between Fincastle and Lewisburg until the proprietor of Sweet Springs should at his own expense build courthouse and prison. This inconvenient way lasted several years. The records were twice every year taken horseback over several mountains and dangerous watercourses. By later Acts, the "advention" of the court to Sweet Springs was hastened, but there was no provision to vest in the commonwealth the title to necessary grounds or buildings. The proprietor now has the freehold. The commonwealth has no other claim than merely the provision that the courthouse be here. The buildings were erected with the verbal consent of the proprietor. Between the last and present terms of court, the tenant now at Sweet Springs has with the consent of the proprietor commanded the jailor to leave, and has molested him in his use of the tenement. The clerk has avoided such treatment by keeping his papers at his house six miles away over a difficult mountain, but has exposed them thereby to dangers, and this is inconvenient to suitors. The courthouse is used in vacation as a boarding house for hotel guests, is never in the custody of the jailor, and is now in ill repair. The jail is totally insufficient, and several escapes have occurred. It is recommended that a town be created to destroy a monopoly prejudicial to the public and oppressive to individuals. The committee was of unanimous opinion that the present seat was by no means adapted to permanency, and that therefore there was embarrassment to the public and probably injustice to private individuals. The proprietor has a slender claim on the commonwealth, because the building put up as courthouse will answer his private purposes. To make the prison secure necessitates an expense equal to the original cost. If indemnity to the proprietor is in order, it will be small. The interest of the public may be subjected to a dangerous association with the interest of a private citizen."

John Lewis, son of William and present proprietor, made reply a few days later than he understood the buildings were vested absolutely in the commonwealth so long as the court might sit here. In case of doubt he was willing to convey the necessary land under the condition that when the commonwealth should vacate, its right to it should cease. He was also willing to grant land under like regulations for clerk and jail.

A petition of 1800 asks that the court be moved to Union on the ground that the proprietor's tavern is given a monopoly "under the most inconvenient charges and regulations." It asserts that the expense to a witness is equal to the fine for his absence. The jail is alleged to be so weak and undesirable that prisoners often escape. It says the peculiar circumstances of the place lead to a "lamentable train of continuances. The records are kept in no certain place and are therefore unsafe." Union is represented as in "the heart of a compact and plentiful settlement rapidly progressing." The courthouse is large and commodious, and the jail is strong. The signatures to this paper are numerous.

A counter petition by Lewis, backed by 42 signers, says there are two houses of entertainment at Sweet Springs, other than the proprietor's, and still another at Red Springs, less than a mile away. Within three to five miles are other houses where the cheapest living may be had. Altogether, Sweet Springs can shelter 200 guests and Union only 50 The charges by the tenant of the proprietor are the same as at the public houses in Union, and his house alone can receive all the people who come to court. It says the delays complained of are chargeable to the lawyers, who have a long way to come. The clerk's office is "one of six rooms in a log house, and but for the grasping individuals who try for removal," a better office would be put up. Sweet Springs is central to its district and convenient to reach.

In a petition of 1802, the proprietor of Sweet Springs argues that his courthouse is of stone, much larger than the one at Union, and has walls two feet thick. The jail has two rooms, whereas the jail at Union has a single room 18 feet square. Only two felons have escaped from his jail. He adds that Union and Lewisburg are not agreed, each wanting the district court.

The petition for removal which we have described is only the first of several The persons in favor of such step seem to have been a large majority of the people interested. The movement was gaining headway. Yet in 1804 there were 419 petitioners asking that the court remain at Sweet Springs for the reason that its courthouse was more commodious than those at Fincastle and Lewisburg.

Since the removal of the court the history of Sweet Springs has been that of a well known summer resort and very small social and commercial center. Next to Berkeley Springs and the resorts of Warm Springs valley, it is the oldest watering place in the Virginias.

The waters of the mineral spring, which undoubtedly became known to the whites through the Indians, are mildly alterative and cathartic, and are serviceable in ailments of the digestive organs and in debility. They are thermal, having a temperature of 73 degrees, or some 20 degrees above the mean atmospheric temperature of the locality. Their properties are similar to those of the famous hot wells of Bristol in England.

The Lewises came to Sweet Springs to live in 1782. The first building at the mineral waters is said to have been a log hut known as the "wigwam." It probably antedates the arrival of Lewis. The hotel, about which there was so much controversy in the papers we have quoted, was built in 1792. Before the close of the century Sweet Springs had numerous visitors. Washington was a guest in 1797. The biographer of Ann Royall states that during the summer season and the sessions of the district court, the house of Colonel Royall, which stood about one mile away, was filled with guests. Mrs. Royall herself says in 1824 that "people from nearly every state go to the springs." She remarks that the Northern people are reserved, the Virginians frank and sociable, and the South Carolinians still more so.

Several of the presidents, including Pierce and Fillmore, were guests at Old Sweet Springs. Henry A. Wise was a frequent visitor. It is said to be the spot where Jerome Bonaparte wooed and won Elizabeth Patterson, the American wife whom his despotic brother forced him to put away.

Of the original buildings little or nothing appears to exist. The present main building dates from 1830-33. A second large building and five cottages were erected in 1857.

The original Sweet Springs Company was incorporated January 16, 1836, by John B. Lewis and associates. The capital stock authorized was 1000 shares of $100 each, three-fifths of which amount was to be held bona fide by other persons than the proprietors. The stock was to be taken within three years and the water was to be analyzed. Incorporation of the Red Springs Company took place the same year, but that of the White Sulphur Springs Company did not take place until 1845.

In 1852 the property passed out of the hands of the Lewises, and a new company was incorporated by Oliver and Christopher J. Beirne, Allen T. Caperton, and John Echols. The capital stock was not to exceed $500,000. The company might build saw and other mills, but might not acquire more than 4000 acres of land. In 1856 the license paid by the company was $225.

In 1902 the property passed into the hands of Charles C. Lewis and J. D. Logan, the former gentleman representing another branch of the descendants of Colonel John Lewis, the founder of Augusta county.

Though not so numerously frequented as in the palmy days of the management under Oliver Beirne, there is still a very fair amount of patronage. The buildings can not be termed modern, but present a good appearance. The great lawn, well shaded and grassed, is an inviting spot. Water for general purposes is brought from a mountain spring and distributed from a reservoir. The scenic surroundings are very beautiful in the summer, and the climate of this sheltered valley is very tonic and healthful.

A short mile down Sweet Springs Run, and beyond the interstate boundary, is the sister resort of Sweet Chalybeate Springs. Less than half a mile up the valley, and in full view except as screened by the fine oak grove, is the manor-house of Lynnside. On this spot lived William Lewis, son of the founder of Augusta county, and he has been succeeded by four generations of his posterity. The present brick mansion was built about 1845. Here was kept in 1884 a private boarding school.

Among the tavern-keepers who have dispensed entertainment at Sweet Springs, the earliest names we find in the local records are those of Robert Douthat in 1802 and Jesse Munter in 1803. In 1848 James Shanks paid a license of $60.12. In 1851 Christopher J. Beirne and Thomas J. Johnston paid $70.25, in addition to $10 for their ten-pin alley. In 1857 a tax of $22.22 was levied on each of the three billiard tables.

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