Part 6 (1/2)

”'Two well-situated and handsome buildings to the amount of 150--$800.'

”And this note of the property appended to the schedule,--

”'BATH.

”'The lots in Bath (two adjoining) cost me, to the best of my recollection, between fifty and sixty pounds twenty years ago.

Whether property there has increased or decreased in its value, and in what condition the houses are, I am ignorant, but suppose they are not valued too high.'

”The sites of these houses are still pointed out. In the Memoirs of the Baroness de Reidesel (wife of the German General who was taken prisoner at the surrender of Burgoyne), she speaks of having pa.s.sed part of the summer of 1779 at these springs with her invalid husband, and mentions having made the acquaintance of Gen. Was.h.i.+ngton's family there. She devotes a page or two of her most interesting work to the narration of quaint and pleasant incidents, ill.u.s.trating their mode of life at the springs, and at the same time ill.u.s.trating (though unintentionally) the excellent and amiable character of the auth.o.r.ess.

”After the revolutionary war, the accommodations at the springs were greatly improved and extended; but as the States progressed in population and prosperity a host of other bathing-places and mineral springs were discovered and improved. Saratoga at the north, and the great White Sulphur at the south, began to rival Berkeley in the race for public favour; and from the superior spirit and enterprise shown in their improvement soon left her far behind. Her register of thousands was reduced to some five or six hundred per annum, and her hotels and bath-houses seemed destined to decay. In 1844 a fire accomplished in one night what time was doing gradually. Fourteen buildings, including the court-house and half the hotel accommodations, were destroyed.

Colonel John Strother, lessee of this property, made immediate preparation for the erection of a hotel on his own ground, and by the next season (1845) the west wing, two stories high, was ready for company. The year following the east wing, three stories high, and part of the front was erected, and in 1848 the whole building was completed.

The erection of this hotel, and the completion of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad to c.u.mberland, have restored Berkeley almost to her former prosperity, and from twelve to fifteen hundred persons annually register their names there, and enjoy the unrivalled luxury of her baths.

”Prior to the year 1772 these springs were called the Frederick Springs, from Frederick County, and frequently the 'Warm Springs;' but after the creation of Berkeley County, in 1772, and the discovery of the Warm Springs in Bath County, they were called the Berkeley Springs.

In 1820, Morgan County was created from Berkeley, including the springs, but the post-office still retains the old name, and letters should be directed to Berkeley Springs, Morgan County, Virginia.”

FAUQUIER WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS.

This very celebrated watering-place is in Fauquier County, 6 miles southwest of Warrenton. The improvements are very extensive, and the grounds beautifully adorned. The accommodations are perhaps sufficient to entertain as many visiters as almost any other watering-place in the State. Had it been in our power, we should have given a fuller account of these springs, together with an a.n.a.lysis of the water.

Beside these springs, there are numerous others of less note scattered through the State, among which are

GRAYSON WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS,

Formerly in Grayson County, but now within the limits of Carroll.

”They are located immediately on the west side of the Blue Ridge, on the bank of New River, about 20 miles south of Wytheville, in the midst of scenery of a remarkably wild and romantic character, similar to that of Harper's Ferry, in a region perhaps as healthy as any in our country; abounding with fish and a variety of game. The a.n.a.lysis of this water, by Professors Rogers and Aiken, is as follows:

”Carbonate of soda, 4-1/2; carbonate of magnesia, 3; carbonate of lime, 8; sulphate of lime, 2; sulphate of magnesia, 3; chloride of sodium, 2; chloride of calcium, 3; chloride of magnesium, 1-3/4; sulphate of soda, 4-1/2; sulphuretted hydrogen, carbonic acid gases.

”The waters are said to be efficacious in dyspepsia and rheumatism.”

The Hygeian Springs, in Giles County, are highly spoken of.