<p align="center"><strong>Accommodations</strong></p>

Patrons seeking the benefit of mineral springs endured arduous rides on horseback and in wagons to reach the waters in the highlands of East Tennessee.  With resort development arising after 1830, these locales became true destinations.  Stagecoach routes certainly served some of the earliest health seekers.  But as resorts across the state came into their own, they utilized a combination of the burgeoning railroad system and hacks, carriages, and “omnibuses” to complete the conveyance of customers to their establishments.

Railroad "Train Tables" made an effort to list the stops for the watering spas along the route. The small annual advertising pamphlets published by many of the resorts would often include a map such as the one on the back of the Galbraith Springs (Hawkins County) 1893 publication emphasizing the connections to particular railroad lines. Railroads even sponsored their own works. A case in point would be the 1882 Guide to the Summer Resorts and Watering Places of East Tennessee produced by the East Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia Railroad Company for the promotion of their business through these sites.

<p align="center"><strong>Bon Aqua Springs, Hickman County</strong></p>

Named by William Loche Weems for its "good water," Bon Aqua Springs attracted visitors as early as the 1830s. By the 1870s, a hotel was built and eventually boasted accomodations for up to 500 guests. In an 1874 issue of the Memphis Public Ledger newspaper, the resort advertised a long list of offerings, including bowling alleys, hairdressers, bath houses, "unsurpassed" cusine, music, and a lake with "new and tasty little boats and well adapted for all manner aquatic sports." The hotel was rebuilt twice due to fires, and it eventually was torn down in the 1940s.

<p align="center"><strong>Red Boiling Springs, Macon County</strong</p>

Red Boiling Springs and Epperson Springs were located on opposite sides of Macon County, but both drew numerous visitors during the years that they were open.

While Red Boiling Springs was named for its red sulphur spring, it offered a black sulphur spring as well. Samuel Hare established a community in the area in the 1840s and it was later developed into a resort in the 1880s. It eventually featured 9 hotels, such as the Palace Hotel and the Donoho Hotel. Although Red Boiling Springs' popularity peaked in the 1920s and 1930s, some of the hotels were open into the 1950s. Today, several are on the National Register of Historic Places.

<p align="center"><strong>Epperson Springs, Macon County</strong></p>

Epperson Springs was originally built in the early 1850s and the resort closed after it burned in 1926. In Introduction to the Resources of Tennessee published in 1874, Agricultural Commissioner J.B. Killebrew wrote that Epperson Springs had "five different kinds of health-giving waters." It later offered electricity, tennis courts, horeseback riding, and other features. In the second postcard, a group of springs are noted by the multiple gazebos. Gazebos were built over the springs to protect the natural feature and allow visitors a place to sit and enjoy the waters.

<br><p align="center"><strong>Bon Air Springs, White County</strong></p>

Bon Air was a mining town in White County, but it originated as a popular community for tourists. Built along Bon Air Mountain, the resort Bon Air Springs began attracting visitors as early as the 1840s. In his 1877 Oil Region of Tennessee, Commissioner Killebrew wrote, "The high elevation of this place rising as it does far above the malarious atmosphere of the bottoms, assures vigorous health to the sojourner."

Like most resorts, it often attracted wealthy and notable guests. In 1897, William Trousdale Peyton (grandson of Governor William Trousdale and politician Balie Peyton) wrote to his mother during his stay at Bon Air. In his letter, he writes "The place is beautiful & we enjoy the evenings in a pavilion overlooking the valley & facing the west so the view is magnificent about sunset, just after which a strong breeze rises." When describing when he might return to their home in Gallatin, he said, "Neither have I any idea how soon that will be as it is quite pleasant and agreeable up here."

John W. Overton and his family and friends were also guests of Bon Air Springs. Their visit to the area in 1911 and 1912 are documented in a family scrapbook. One of the noted guests that they visited the resort with was Jacob McGavock Dickinson, a prominent Nashvillian and Secretary of War under President William Howard Taft. Click on an image to see the page in greater detail.

<p align="center"><strong>Whittle Springs, Knox County</strong></p>

Described as "Tennessee's Finest Pleasure Resort," Whittle Springs opened in 1918 along the popular Dixie Highway in Knoxville. In 1919, it was profiled by Hotel Monthly, which stated the resort was located on 200 acres and offered a golf course, modern swimming pool that was 80 feet wide by 100 feet long, and dining rooms that could sit up to 400 people. In 1923, the hotel president wrote to Governor Austin Peay inviting him to stay at the hotel during his visit to the East Tennessee Division Fair. The letter also served as a pamphlet featuring photos of the resort and nearby attractings in Knoxville.

<p align="center"><strong>Tate Springs, Grainger County</strong</p>

Frequented by famous families such as the Fords, Rockefellers, Firestones, Studebakers and Mellons, Tate Springs operated as a world-class luxury resort during its prime in the early 1900s.  Its “Tate Epsom Water” was shipped all over the world as a cure for stomach, kidney, and liver ailments.  The Peavine Railroad, completed in 1896, brought in the clientele, with the richest arriving in private rail cars.  They treated themselves to the stables, tennis courts, billiards room, ballroom, 100-acre park, and golf course.

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<p align="center"><strong>Faulkner Springs, Warren County</strong></p>

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<p align="center"><strong>Craggie Hope, Dickson County</strong></p>

While some larger resorts could host up to 500 guests at one hotel, there were also many smaller resort towns across the state. Craggie Hope in Dickson County was a vacation destination around the late 1890s-early 1900s. It featured two smaller hotels and privately owned summer cottages.

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