Taking the Waters
During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century summer was known as the “sickly season” in most east coast American cities, and the wealthier citizens escaped to the west to avoid the dangers posed by communicable diseases. It was widely believed that it was the air which carried the diseases of cholera, malaria, typhus, and others, resulting in numerous epidemics. The natural springs and spas in the cleaner air of the west were resorted to by those who could afford to leave behind their businesses in the hands of others and get away. The appearance of leisure was covered by the appearance of traveling for the benefit of health.
Beginning in the late 1770s, White Sulphur Springs, a sulphur water natural spring, attracted the wealthier citizens of Virginia, and its fame as a site for healthful resort soon spread throughout the middle and southern states. Visitors both ingested the waters of the spring and soaked in its pools. By the early 1800s water was being bottled at the spring for sale in the east as its fame spread throughout the country. Starting with a small inn, the resort developed into a cluster of small cottages which were sold to wealthy planters, politicians, and businessmen. Eventually a large hotel, known as the Greenbrier, was built on the site.
New Yorkers and others of the Middle Atlantic States found rest and healthy waters at Saratoga Springs, which began attracting tourists in the early 1800s. After the opening of the railroad in 1832, resort inns and hotels developed in the nearby town of Saratoga. The mineral waters of the springs gained fame throughout the United States and by the time of the American Civil War the springs and the resorts around them were known in Europe. During the Civil War a race track, the precursor of Saratoga Race Course, was opened to alleviate the boredom of those who had had enough of the benefits of the waters.
Nearby, the village of Ballston Spa became famous for the waters which came from its springs. Hawthorne spring water, a bubbling mineral water, was used as a treatment for patients in sanitoriums, believed to be effective against tuberculosis. In 1803 the largest hotel in the United States built to that time was erected in Ballston Spa. Called the Sans Souci Hotel, in 1821 one of its guests was Joseph Bonaparte, who had reigned as King of Spain for a time when his brother Napoleon was Emperor of the French. The Sans Souci was one of the United States’ earliest and most famous tourist resorts, though it was a resort for the wealthy.
Taking the waters continued to be a vacation plan throughout the nineteenth century, extending into the west as the nation did the same. Yellow Springs in Ohio became famous for the high sulphur content of its water. Several guide books were offered which described the spas and resorts around the country, rating both the efficacy of the waters offered and the quality of the available facilities. Bell’s Picturesque Guide to American Watering Places, published in 1880, included railroad and steamboat schedules, places of amusement near the resorts, and other information to help the traveler plan his or her upcoming vacation.