Having described all the springs, of which we have any information,
immediately on the main routes from the city of Washington to the White
Sulphur, we will now give an account of all other watering-places
within our knowledge. The following account of the Berkeley Springs has
been furnished us; and although it is longer than the description of
any other watering-place given in this work, we have been induced in
consequence of their antiquity to insert the whole.
"Berkeley Springs are situated in the town of Bath, Morgan County,
Virginia, 2-1/2 miles from Sir John's Depot, a point on the Baltimore
and Ohio Railroad, 130 miles west of Baltimore, and 49 miles east of
Cumberland, Maryland. A good mountain road connects with the railroad,
and during the bathing season, which lasts from the 1st of June until
the 1st of October, fine coaches are always in attendance at the depot.
Three large springs, and a number of inferior ones, gush out from the
foot of the Warm Spring Ridge, all within the distance of 70 or 80
yards, forming a bold and beautiful stream, which in its course down
the valley supplies several mills and factories, and empties into the
Potomac opposite Hancock, Maryland, 6 miles distant. The water of all
these fountains is of the same character, light, sparkling, and
tasteless, their temperatures ranging from 72° to 74° Fahrenheit, and
their character and volume being in no way affected by variations of
the weather or changes of the seasons. The gentlemen's bath-house, a
substantial brick building, contains ten large bathing-rooms. The baths
are of cement, 12 feet long, 5 feet wide, and 4-1/2 deep, filled from a
reservoir by a four inch pipe, and contain about 1600 gallons each. The
luxury of these capacious plunges can only be appreciated by those who
have tried them. The ladies' bath-house, on the opposite side of the
grove, contains nine baths of similar dimensions, and adjoining this is
an establishment for shower, spout, and artificial warm baths. The
whole is enclosed by a beautiful grove several acres in extent, and
handsomely improved.
"The ownership of these springs is vested in a body of trustees,
appointed originally by the Legislature of Virginia, and the
improvements are made and kept up by means of the revenue derived from
the annual visiters. The charges for the use of the baths are as
follows:--Single bath, 25 cents; season ticket, $2 50. Children and
servants half the above rates. Life ticket, $15 00. A season ticket
entitles the purchaser to the use of the bath during the whole bathing
season. A life ticket entitles the purchaser and his immediate family
to the use of the bath during the life of such purchaser, with the
additional fee of 50 cents per annum from each individual to the
bath-keeper. Arrangements are making for extending and improving the
bathing accommodation, so as to give the public the full benefit of a
restorative and luxury so copiously supplied by nature. It has been
estimated that these springs furnish water at the rate of 800 or 1000
gallons per minute.
"Bath is the county town of Morgan, has a daily mail, and contains
about 250 inhabitants. The scenery in the neighbourhood is wild and
picturesque, and the view from Capon Mountain, showing the junction of
the Capon and Potomac Rivers, is quite celebrated. There are also, in
the immediate vicinity, a number of fine sulphur and chalybeate
springs.
"Although these waters possess considerable medicinal virtue when taken
internally, yet it is to their external use that they chiefly owe their
celebrity; their delightful medium temperature, in connexion with other
properties, adapting them to a wide range of diseases, and giving them
a decided advantage over most other waters known in this country. They
have never been accurately analyzed, but the presence of purgative and
diuretic salts has been ascertained, though the impregnation is not
strong, and the amount uncertain.
"This water is tasteless, insipid from its warmth, and is so light in
its character, that very large quantities may be taken into the stomach
without producing oppression or uneasiness. Persons generally become
fond of it after a time, and when cooled it is a delightful beverage.
It is beneficial in a class of chronic and subacute disorders, such as
derangements of the stomach, with impaired appetite and feeble
digestion, and chronic diseases of the abdominal viscera not connected
with a high degree of organic disease. Their salutary effects in these
cases would seem to depend upon the exceedingly light character of the
waters, aided by their gentle alkaline properties, neutralizing
acidity, and then invigorating and soothing the viscera.
"In the early stages of calculous diseases, attended with irritable
bladder, their free use internally and externally is frequently of
great benefit.
"Externally used, these waters are beneficial in the whole class of
nervous disorders, especially in those irregular anomalous diseases
more frequently met with in females when not connected with a full
habit or _extreme debility_. They are useful in all uterine diseases
when active inflammation is not present. In cases of relaxed habit and
debility, when sufficient power of reaction exists in the system, their
tonic and bracing properties are very decided. Persons suffering from a
residence in warm, low, and damp climates, and subject to nervous
affections, will generally find them a complete restorative. They are
very useful in chronic diseases of the mucous membrane, such as
leucorrhoea, gonorrhoea, &c., and certain forms of bronchial disease
arising from a relaxed condition of the membrane; also in local
paralytic affections unconnected with congestion of the brain.
"In chronic rheumatism these baths have been pronounced a specific. Of
their mode of action little is known with certainty, but the results
are undeniable and admirable. The most obstinate, complicated, and
troublesome cases invariably yield to a patient and judicious use of
the remedy. The milder cases generally yield in ten days or two weeks,
those of longer standing require a longer time for their eradication.
"It is to be regretted that the results of a careful analysis, and a
more extended medical notice, cannot now be given to the public; but
probably practical experience is after all the best test to which a
mineral water can be subjected, and this test Berkeley has stood for
more than eighty years with increasing reputation.
"Strother's is the principal hotel in the place. It adjoins the grove,
and will accommodate comfortably about 400 persons. It is built of
wood, on three sides of a quadrangle, 168 feet front by 197. The front
building is four stories high, has a portico 130 feet long by 16 wide;
a dining and ball-room 106 feet by 30, three large public parlours, and
a bar-room. The wings are respectively two and three stories high. A
basement of stone, fire proof, roomy, and well ventilated, contains the
kitchen department and wine cellar. The court yard, about 100 feet
square, is tastefully ornamented with trees, flowers, and shrubbery.
Besides the ordinary single and double chambers, this house contains
about thirty suites of apartments, of two, three, and four chambers,
for the accommodation of families. The main building, with several
out-houses, contains 200 lodging rooms, all neat, well ventilated, and
conveniently arranged. In conducting this establishment essential
comfort is generally preferred to external appearance, although the
latter is by no means neglected. The furniture is neat, new, and
simple, while the beds and bedding are costly and of the finest
quality. The mattresses are of curled hair, and made by the best
upholsterers of Baltimore, the table is admirably served, and the
ice-houses capacious and unfailing.
"Attached to the hotel, are a fine band of music, billiard tables,
pistol gallery, and ten-pin alleys. Riding horses, buggies, and
carriages, are furnished for pleasure excursions.
"O'Ferrall's hotel is conveniently situated, well kept, and will
accommodate about 100 persons. Other accommodation for 150 persons may
be found in the place."