It’s 1754 and brothers Andrew and William Lewis are scouting an area in Botetourt County, Virginia, and come across a strange, warm-water, marshy area. Little did they know just how important this area would become to the history of the United States — that presidents and elites from other countries would come to visit here, and that this discovery would lead to “turnpike roads for stagecoach” use that would later become some of the paved highways we still use today.
Andrew and William Lewis were the first settlers in the area; however, the history of this area goes back further that any of us know, as the Trans-Allegheny Indians had been using this area for many years as a birthing and clean water drinking area because of this warm water “pool” and the pure drinking waters that are still used today.
Where is this magnificent place? Sweet Springs in Monroe County, West Virginia.
William Lewis took over the property, and in about 1792 he built the first inn, a log structure with a full front porch. People such as Presidents Pierce, Van Buren and Fillmore came to stay at the “hotel.”
William Lewis lived in the area until his death in 1811. His grandson, John Lewis (named after William’s father, an Irish immigrant), held the land until Oct. 14, 1852. John Lewis had acquired some debts and had used the property as collateral.
On Aug. 18, 1852, Oliver Beirne became the purchaser of this area, and on Oct. 14, 1852, a court decree was entered stating that Oliver Beirne became the purchaser of the Sweet Springs and adjoining lands and “has executed the bonds with securities for said purchase.”
A few weeks later Beirne sold half of the property to Allen T. Caperton and Christopher J. Beirne giving each ¼ of the land.
During the early ownership by Beirne, a new “hotel” had been built consisting of 17 individual, one-room cabins. Each cabin had a fireplace. There were times that there were six and seven cots per cabin, so while people complained of the accommodations at times, the food was always excellent.
Later, the current hotel building, designed by Thomas Jefferson was built. The outside was called “awe-inspiring” and the inside “totally astonishing”.
The building was completed and opened in 1833, after Jefferson’s death, but built to his design of grandeur. The hotel ran in full swing and was considered one of the grandest until after the Civil War.
Following the Civil War, the magnificent hotel could not pull in the people like it did before — none could, but Sweet Springs really suffered because of its distance from other places. Finally, the “Grand Lady” closed her doors as a hotel.
After the Civil War, unable to become the grand hotel she had been, the magnificent building became a tuberculosis sanitarium, and other businesses that failed, until 1942 when the state of West Virginia purchased the property and turned it into the Andrew S. Rowan Memorial Home.
You had to be ambulatory to stay here and could obtain lodging on your own. The buses ran from here to White Sulphur Springs and Lewisburg a couple days a week. It was an extremely popular place to live. Then, in 1991, the state closed the home saying it would take more money to update the facility than to build a new one. After the Andrew S. Rowan Memorial Home closed, several people purchased the property with plans to renovate or bottle the water but ran out of money before they could complete their mission.
In 2015 Mr. Ashby Berkley purchased the property and formed The Sweet Springs Resort Park Foundation Inc., a 501 C 3 nonprofit foundation/public park.
Some facts about Sweet Springs Resort Park
- Between 1795 and 1807 the district courthouse was located on the Sweet Springs property. Of course, this was a Virginia courthouse, as West Virginia had not yet become a state.
- The oldest stone-built jail and oldest frame-built house west of the Alleghenies still stand on the property.
- Some of the guests throughout the history of the resort include eight of the first 10 presidents, James and Dolly Madison, Millard Fillmore, Martin Van Buren, Franklin Pierce, Patrick Henry, Robert E. Lee, The Marquis de Lafayette and Jerome Bonaparte (Napoleon’s brother).
- Circa 1790, Anne Newport wed William Royall, a wealthy American Revolution Major Freemason and Deist. William Royall saw to it that Anne received a proper education, and while married, lived on the Sweet Springs property (the foundation to the house is still on the grounds). After Royall’s death, his family took Anne to court and took everything, leaving her penniless. Anne caught John Quincy Adams bathing in a river and took his clothes until he would listen to what she had to say. Anne became great friends with the Adams family, and thanks to her education, Anne Royall became the first noted woman journalist, editor and writer. Upon her death, Anne was buried in the Congressional Cemetery in Washington.
- Sweet Springs Park has two unique water attractions: the pure drinking waters which have been tested and reported as some of the purest in the world, and the warm water pool where the water remains 73 degrees year-round. This is the same pool in which there are many “healing stories”.
This Jeffersonian project offers opportunities in education, economics, history, culture and the arts, and can attract international attention, as it is home to one of only 36 International Peace Poles in the United States and is being considered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The park is also home to one of the best haunted houses in the state, as most decorations are hand-made, and the local High School JROTC joins in as actors.
The park hosts and annual two-day music festival and an annual MIA/POW and Veterans Appreciation Day each September — this year’s event will be held Sept. 2.
Hosted by Sweet Springs Institute and held at the Sweet Springs Park is the internationally attended seven-day Sustainability Forum that is free to the public. Also included in the fun is the annual Easter Egg Hunt on the Saturday of Easter weekend, where the Easter bunny drops in for pictures and to hunt eggs with the kids.
In 2023, the park is working with the community and county to host the annual Appalachian Heritage Festival which has been held in Monroe County for several years.
To date, everyone at the Sweet Springs Resort Park is a volunteer. They have completed over $2 million in restoration with all work being done as true as possible to the 1833 design. The park has no loans, operating strictly on grants, donations and fundraisers. All donations over $50 are tax deductible, and over $10,000 is a great tax write off. Donations can be made on PayPal at sweetspringsresortpark@yahoo.com.
Donations of $5,000 qualify for the donor to receive a tree or bush in the memory garden for the person of their choice and a brick on the wall of “he Three Sisters” in the name of their choice, plus, they can deduct the $5000come tax time.
Donations are tax deductible, so you get your money back at the end of the year — whether it is $200 or $1 million — it is a tax write-off.
The park hosts weddings, reunions, meetings and more. Weddings on the magnificent grounds or in front of the beautiful Jeffersonian hotel are a grand event, with wedding prices starting at $300. There is the Lewis House B&B where you can rent the whole house or a room and the park offers special, whole-house rates for weddings and reunions.
