University of Virginia Historical Collections at the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library

White Sulphur Springs

Greenbrier County, West Virginia

If the estimation in which the White Sulphur water is held, in the United States, be any evidence of its merit, it needs no other eulogy; for it is well known that its fame has spread to every portion of the nation. It is indeed a noble fountain, destined, we hope and trust, to be a blessing to countless generations. William Burke

William Burke on the White Sulphur Springs.

The White Sulphur Springs, now the Greenbrier resort, is in Greenbrier County in what is now West Virginia. Thirty-five miles from Hot Springs, it had accommodations for 500 people with the normal number of accompanying servants and horses. Informed that a greater number had been lodged, Dr. Burke wrote in The Mineral Springs of Western Virginia, “More than six hundred are said to have been taken in, but when the guest has to be crammed into a room with some half dozen others, it is not so much accommodation as making shift.” In the dozen years prior to the printing of Dr. Burke’s book there were extensive improvements though “such a glaring want of design in the arrangement of the buildings, that it is painful to a man of taste to observe how nature has been marred by the want of art.” Dr. Burke described the chaos at mealtime caused by servants seizing the best of the food for their private employers or for guests who had bribed the establishment’s servants. He suggested the banning of private servants from the dining hall and the implementation of a system to make it more difficult to bribe the White Sulphur Springs servants.

Dr. Burke claimed that Moorman was saying that water without the gas was even better than the original from the spring and begged to differ: “We can understand how half a loaf is better than no bread; but it will take better logic than that exhibited by Dr. M. to convince us that half a loaf is better than a whole loaf.” {Burke, 148}

Dr. Burke devoted a remarkable 80 percent of his chapter on the White Sulphur Springs and more than 10 percent of his entire book to his disagreement with the resident doctor, J. J. Moorman, concerning the effectiveness of White Sulphur Springs water that no longer contained “sulphuretted hydrogen gas.” Dr. Moorman and his supporters testified in lengthy quotes that water transported for the use of the general public and lacking the gas was as beneficial to the user as the water with the gas that was consumed at the springs. With increasing fervor and the creative use of a satirical drama, Dr. Burke rebuked Dr. Moorman’s theory which Burke believed stemmed from a desire for pecuniary gain and resulted in the sale of “putrid” and “stale” water.

Dr. Burke eventually wrote, “We shall make no further quotations from Dr. M[oorman]. His facts are without foundation in truth; his arguments puerile and shallow; his theories untenable; his absurdities ridiculous; his motives palpable and culpable; and his efforts to bolster up a selfish practice, a gross imposition.” {Burke, 172}

Dr. Burke did have good things to say about the springs. He wrote that the water’s fame had spread to the entire nation and called the fountain noble, “destined, we hope and trust, to be a blessing to countless generations.” Dr. Burke quoted an article in the Southern Literary Messenger [April 1838, p. 261] that said the spring was covered by a tasteful, domed pavilion, adorned with a statue of the patron saint of healing, Hygeia. Surrounded by shade trees, the pavilion was a gathering place for both the sick and indisposed as well as the healthy and vigorous.

Burke’s Recommendations for Using the Waters at White Sulphur Springs.

Dr. Burke quoted John Bell’s book, On Baths and Mineral Waters, which delineated the various illnesses that people hoped would be cured by a visit to the White Sulphur Springs. “The White Sulphur Springs have been much resorted to by invalids suffering from dyspepsia, chronic hepatitis, the slow fever following remittent, bilious, or ill-cured intermittent fevers; chronic rheumatism, cutaneous diseases, uterine derangements, such as obstructed menstruation and fluor albus.” Burke added that the water would be useful in most cases of visceral illness and certain nephritic diseases, but that it could be harmful to those predisposed to pulmonary disorders or with actual respiratory disease.Burke’s Recommendations for Using the Waters at White Sulphur Springs.

Professor William Rogers from the University of Virginia did an analysis of the waters which indicated that the White Sulphur Springs did not have the gaseous or saline quantities of many spring waters, but Burke insisted that did not make the water inferior in curative assets as, “There may be too much of a good thing in mineral waters.”

Robert T. Hubard Farm Journal, September 11, 1839.

Robert Thruston Hubard (1808-1871) was a tobacco farmer, lawyer, and member of the Virginia House of Delegates. This was at least his second visit to the springs as he wrote a letter to his wife from White Sulphur in 1838. His journal entry dated September 11, 1839, illustrates his passionate disdain for the milieu of the Virginia springs.

Documents from the Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia:

• Letter from John McLaughlin, 1814: McLaughlin mentions four different springs and writes his wife that his colic is clear, but his knees still hurt.
• Letter from Virginia Randolph Trist, 1825: Trist writes her sister that Nicholas (probably her husband) was at White Sulphur and mentions seeing her grandfather, Thomas Jefferson, enjoying the evening air at Monticello.
• Letter from R. T. Hubard to Susan Hubard, August 19, 1838: Hubard laments the separation from his family, and he fears he will never be “a sound, healthy man” but does live for another 33 years.
• Woodblock print by Henry Howe, 1845: This print was used for the book, Historical Collections of Virginia.
• Daguerreotype by James Ball, 1845: This is probably one of the first daguerreotypes by the African-American photographer who learned his trade in White Sulphur Springs.
• Letter from J. S. Martin, 1847: Martin writes his wife that he believes his life is at stake and that he is willing to sacrifice all his worldly effects for health.
• White Sulphur Springs, 1854: This bird’s eye view illustrates one of Dr. J. J. Moorman’s books.
• White Sulphur Springs Company certificate, February 23, 1858: The certificate shows that Robert W. Carter owned 5 shares at $5000 each of Warm Sulphur Springs Company.
• Indenture between White Sulphur Springs Company and Robert W. Carter, 1858: Carter pays $2500 for cottage privileges, giving him and his heirs the right to use the fourth cottage in Baltimore row forever.
• White Sulphur Springs Company Bond, 1859: The $500 bond was to be paid on January 1, 1862, but Virginia seceded from the Union in 1861.
• Letter from Elizabeth Noel, 1860: Noel writes her daughter about the huge amounts of food prepared everyday (500 pies, 22 sheep, 300 chickens), describes clothing (the belle of the place doesn’t wear hoops) and is not feeling well.
• Statement of Receipts and Expenditures, 1860: This statement of receipts and expenditures shows that the expenses appear to be $60,000 more than income for the year.
• Letter from G. W. Lewis, 1867: Lewis writes a fellow executor of Robert W. Carter’s estate about the insolvent condition of the White Sulphur Springs Company and the resultant liability on the estate.
• Photograph of Robert E. Lee with eight former Confederate generals …, 1869: This photo is of Lee and 12 other illustrious men.
• Statement from a director of the White Sulphur Springs Company, 1873: Morton describes the sad state of the financial affairs of the White Sulphur Springs Company and seeks aid from a federal court.
• For Rent! The White Sulphur Springs! 1874: The article solicits bids for renting the springs for the summer season.
• Commissioner’s Notice. Charles S. Gay … vs. The White Sulphur Springs Company …, [1874]: The notice concerns liens on the property of the White Sulphur Springs.
• Petition for permission to lease White Sulphur Springs: The creditors seek to rent rather than sell the springs, fearing a total loss if the property is sold.
• Gay … vs. The White Sulphur Springs Co …, 1875: The White Sulphur Springs Company must transfer its right to build a hotel at the C & O Railroad depot.

Additional Information:

• National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form: This detailed form for the White Sulphur Springs is dated May 9, 1974. It includes the history and significance of the springs, descriptions of buildings, maps, a bibliography, and a photograph.
• National Register of Historic Places: The National Register has a brief summary of places in Greenbrier County, West Virginia.
• “White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia” by John W. Lund: This article in the Geo-Heat Center Bulletin of May 1996 gives the history of White Sulphur Springs up through the mid 1990s. Early photographs and images are included.
• Library of Congress American Memory: Search for White Sulphur Springs, and see Detroit Publishing Company photographs taken from 1880 to 1920, photos from the Historic American Buildings Survey, letters written from the springs during the Civil War, and a broadside in which Jeremiah Morton states that the advertisement to rent the springs in 1974 was publicized about as well, “as if it had been stuck up against a tree in the midst of the forest.”
• History of the Greenbrier: The current owner’s official site gives a history of the resort.
• Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online Catalog: Search for White Sulphur Springs, and see dozens of images of White Sulphur Springs, many photographed by Richard Cheek in 1974 and many from 1900-1920.

Image Credits:

• {1} John J. Moorman, The Virginia Springs, Richmond, Virginia: J.W. Randolph, 1857: facing page 25. Historical Collections & Services, Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, University of Virginia.
• {2} Merritt T. Cooke Memorial Virginia Print Collection, 1857-1907, Accession #9408, Special Collections, University of Virginia Library.
• {3} John J. Moorman, The Virginia Springs of the South and West, Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, 1859: facing title page. Historical Collections & Services, Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, University of Virginia.
• {4} Robert T. Hubard Farm Journal, 1834-1846, Accession #8039-c, Special Collections, University of Virginia Library.

Source:

• William Burke, The Mineral Springs of Western Virginia, New York: Wiley and Putnam, 1846.

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