Tag: White Sulphur Springs VA

Wikipedia says: The Greenbrier is a luxury resort located in the Allegheny Mountains near White Sulphur Springs in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, in the United States.

Since 1778, visitors have traveled to this part of the state to “take the waters” of the area.

…A spring of sulphur water is at the center of the resort property. It is surrounded by the white-columned spring house, topped by a green dome that has been the symbol of The Greenbrier for generations. Beginning in 1778, Mrs. Anderson, a local pioneer, adopted the local Native American tradition of “taking the waters” to relieve her chronic rheumatism. Based on this resource, for the first 125 years, the resort was known by the name White Sulphur Springs. It was a destination for people during the summers who wanted to escape coastal heat and diseases.

The property was acquired by the Calwells, a prominent Baltimore family. They developed the large property as a resort, selling cottages, many of which still stand today, to prominent Southern individuals. Notable guests of the early 19th century included Martin Van Buren and Henry Clay.

In 1858, they built a huge hotel building on the property. The Grand Central Hotel came to be known by the moniker “The White” and, later, “The Old White”. During the Civil War, the property changed hands between forces of the Confederate Army and the Union Army, who almost burned the resort to the ground.

Following the Civil War, the resort reopened. It became a place for many Southerners and Northerners alike to vacation. It was the setting for some notable post-war reconciliations. The “White Sulphur Manifesto”, the only political paper published by Confederate General Robert E. Lee after the Civil War, advocated the merging of the two societies. The resort became a center of regional post-war society, especially after the arrival of the railroad. Beginning in 1869, it provided direct service to the resort’s gates.