Healing Waters - Tennessee State Library & Archives

"Healing Waters"

Most of Tennessee's earliest resorts grew up around mineral springs. The effectiveness of "water cure" or hydrotherapy had been touted since the times of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Some of the most noted and sought after “healing springs” were located in the highlands of East Tennessee. Native Americans and wildlife likely discovered these sites long before the appearance of white settlers in Tennessee. Visitors were making recorded treks to these locations as early as the 1790s.

The Empiricism of the 18th and 19th centuries revived the waning popularity of mineral waters and their curative potential amidst the craze for analyzing the minerals and gases present. Physicians of the period reveled in ascribing various health benefits to particular waters. Books such as John Bell, M.D.,'s 1855 publication, The Mineral and Thermal Springs of the United States and Canada, spread the word across the nation of some of the early “Tennessee Springs,” their chemical compositions, and their medicinal benefits. Types of mineral waters were often described by the color of the precipitate formed by the water. Other laymen maintain the denotation represents the color taken on by a silver coin immersed in the spring water—i.e., red, black, or white. Claims varied, but red water was generally said to ease urinary tract disorders while black water addressed digestive complaints.

Left: Galbraith Springs pamphlet, 1893. Library Collection, 54716

Below: Newspaper ad for Cloyd Place Hotel in Red Boiling Springs, Carthage TImes, July 20, 1900. Library Collection, ID: 44182.

<a href="https://digitaltennessee.tnsos.gov/exhibit/wish-you-were-here/waters/map-of-lincoln-county/"><img src="https://digitaltennessee.tnsos.gov/context/historicresorts/article/1074/type/native/viewcontent" alt="Handdrawn map of Lincoln County, about 1832" height="500" width="auto" hspace="10" vspace="10"></a href>
This 1832 map of Lincoln County notes the location of various sulphur wells and mineral springs among other points of interest.
Map of Lincoln County, about 1832 by Matthew Rhea. Rhea Family Papers, 1769-1859, ID: 43102.

This letterhead for East Brook Springs describes the benefits of the waters. This resort offered "green water" to treat everything from indigestion to liver and kidney diseases. Click on the image to read the full description offered by the resort.

Brook Springs Resort letterhead, sent by James McFerrin Anderson, May 4, 1896. James Douglas Anderson Papers, 1854-1951, ID: 54715.

Many Tennesseans believed in these claims and visited springs and resorts to help treat what ailed them. For example, James Anderson wrote a letter regarding his visit to Epperson Springs when he was diagnosed with malaria. He reported that after just five days at the resort, he "had a new lease on life." Other mineral springs and spas published pamphlets, such as Galbraith Springs in Hawkins County, with "testimonials" from guests about the quality of their waters.

Epperson Springs Hotel, before 1926. Tennessee Postcard Collection, ID: 50477.

Testimonials in Galbraith Springs pamphlet, 1893. Library Collection, ID: 54716.

In addition to their claim of healing properties, the watering spas or resorts offered an escape for the urban elite from the unhealthy summer cities. Thus, these resorts tended to develop at a more distant, safe location from major cities, as illustrated by Charles B. Thorne’s map in his 1970 Tennessee Historical Quarterly article “The Watering Spas of Middle Tennessee.” He profiled 31 mineral spring resorts in Middle Tennessee alone, and commented that there were surely more that had been overlooked.

Some businesses started avertising the sale of mineral waters without having to go to a resort or spa. A man named George Miller from New York sent Governor Peter Turney multiple informational pamphlets about the benefits of his product, "Geneva Mineral Water," as an effective treatment for rheumatism. One Jonesboro man later wrote Governor Ben Hooper asking if the state would help "[get] mineral water placed on the market."

Left: Man standing next to a mineral spring in Obion County, with a cup in hand, about 1900. Looking Back at Tennessee Collection, 1890-1981, ID: 11047.

Right: Letter from George Miller to Governor Peter Turney regarding his product "Geneval Mineral Water," GP 30: Governor Peter Turney Papers, 1893-1897, ID: 54710.

Spring Houses

The actual spring houses varied in style from ornate to rustic depending on their location and the size of the community, spa, or resort they served.

Left: Bon Aqua Springs Hotel spring house, 1890s. Looking Back at Tennessee Photograph Collection, 1890-1981, ID: 8548.

Middle: Primm Springs spring house, 1890s. Looking Back at Tennessee Photograph Collection, 1890-1981, ID: 10040.

Right: Galbraith Springs spring house, before 1929. Tennessee Postcard Collection, ID: 51366.

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Spring House at the second Bon Aqua Springs Hotel.

Spring House at Primm Springs, Hickman County

Postcard of The rustic spring house, Galbraith Springs, Hawkins County

Letter from Guy Bolton of Jonesboro to Governor Ben Hooper about mineral water

Man standing next to a mineral spring

Galbraith Springs pamphlet, testimonials

Endorsement for "Geneva Mineral Water"

A water pump house at Black Water Spring in Red Boiling Springs, Tennessee.

Letter from James Douglas Anderson about his visit to Epperson Springs, stating he after five days of taking the waters to treat his malaria, he had "a new lease on life."

Letter from James McFerrin Anderson

Pamphlet for "Geneva Mineral Water"

Map of Lincoln County

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<p align="center"><strong>"Healing Waters"</strong></p>

<strong>Spring Houses</strong>

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