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The Homestead,
one of the most venerable resorts in the country, first opened as an inn in
1766. The medicinal properties of the mountain springs had been noted as early
as the 1600s.
Local legends claim a Native American messenger
went to sleep one winter night in the hot springs’ water and
discovered its rejuvenating effects. Dr. Thomas Walker, a medical
missionary who charted this territory, wrote in his journal on July 9, 1750, “We
went to Hot springs and found six invalids there. The spring is warmer than new
milk and there is a spring of cold water within 20 feet of the warm one.”
Thomas Jefferson is credited with designing
Warm Springs’ first men’s bathhouse in 1761; it’s the oldest spa structure in
America. In 1766, Lieutenant Thomas Bullitt, who was stationed on the frontier
at Fort Dinwiddie, built an inn he called The Homestead. Legend has it he
opened the hostelry because so many uninvited guests were arriving at his home
to stay while they sought the curative effects of the hot springs. Although
only Thomas Jefferson’s visit is documented, it is believed that George
Washington and Alexander Hamilton also enjoyed the water of Warm Springs, as Hot
Springs was called during the Revolutionary War.
Bullitt died in 1778 and a series of absentee
landlords owned the property before it was acquired in 1832 by Dr. Thomas Goode
who improved the bathhouses. By 1846 he announced the opening of a “modern
hotel.” Goode placed glowing testimonials and accounts in Harper’s Weekly
and other periodicals claiming the waters cured gout, rheumatism, liver
diseases, paralysis, neuralgia, enlarged glands and spinal irritations.
After Goode’s death in 1858, another series
of absentee owners ran the property for decades. During the Civil War, The
Homestead was used as a Confederate hospital. In 1891, a group of stockholders
in the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad purchased the hotel and land. M.E. Ingalls,
a member of the syndicate, became president of The Homestead, and in 1914 his
family purchased controlling interest in the resort. The railroad connection
proved helpful, as a branch line of the C&O was built to Hot Springs in
1891-1892, providing passenger service until 1970. In 1892, the spa was built
and the first tee of the golf course and first tennis court added. Buildings
that remain from this early period include the spa, casino (added in 1893) and
eleven cottages (which now house specialty shops).
After a fire destroyed the old wooden frame
hotel, the main section of today’s Homestead was built in 1902. The west wing
was added in 1903, the east wing in 1914 and the tower section in 1929. This
new resort attracted the rich and famous; such illustrious personalities as
Henry Ford, Thomas Edison and John D. Rockefeller, Sr. visited The Homestead.
Woodrow Wilson and Edith Bolling Galt spend part of their honeymoon at this
resort. Thirteen former presidents, starting with William McKinley and ending
with Lyndon Johnson, have visited here.
The recreational opportunities lured visitors.
In October 1924, the William Flynn-designed Cascades course opened. It was
ranked by Golf Magazine as one of the world’s top 100 golf courses and
ranked by Golfweek as Virginia’s premier course. In 1933, the resort
opened the Shooting Club, considered to be one of the nation’s finest
championship shooting facilities.
During World War II, The Homestead was used as an
internment site for Japanese diplomats. On December 29, 1941, shortly after the
attack on Pearl Harbor, 250 men, women and children arrived by train from
Washington’s Union Station (more arrived later).
The Homestead embarked on a period of
recreational expansion in the 50s and 60s that included the opening of an
outdoor pool and sun beach in 1954, an innovative southern skiing and ice
skating program in 1959, bowling in 1962 and a third golf course in 1963. The
resort is now managed and co-owned by Club Resorts Inc., who will become sole
owners in 1999.
Front porch with a view
In 1994, the new ownership/management company
began a $6.5 million renovation project that included both interior and exterior
work on the hotel and cottages, grounds work and work on the recreational
facilities. The Homestead has 521 guest rooms and 81 luxurious suites some
featuring sun porches and fireplaces. Among the ten dining venues is the Dining
Room which features live entertainment and dancing, plus The Grille, a sports
bar, cafe, tavern and other options. A wine room holds thousands of bottles of
outstanding wines. Guests can take a tour of The Homestead cellars or they can
arrange to host a wine tasting. In addition to the boutiques located in Cottage
Row the hotel has Palm Beach Corridor with exclusive shops.
The resort has three golf courses: the top-ranked
1924 Cascades course, the recently improved 1892/1913 Homestead course and the
1963 Lower Cascades course. Added in 1994 is a driving range and
practice facility. There are eight Har-Tru and four all-weather tennis courts.
While many sports enthusiasts don’t think of Virginia as a ski destination, The
Homestead has nine groomed downhill ski slopes. They offer night skiing, a
half-pipe and snowboard park, ski shop, ski and snowboard rentals and a ski
school. Winter sports fans also enjoy the Olympic-sized outdoor skating rink
with day and nighttime sessions. The renowned Shooting Club features sporting
clays, five-stand sporting, skeet, trap and a .22-caliber rifle/pistol range.
There are also more than 100 miles of riding trails and 40 horses on the
property. Carriage and pony rides can also be arranged. Three hiking trails
begin in front of the hotel; for all except the short Promenade, sturdy walking
shoes are recommended. One of the most popular hikes is along the Cascades
Gorge Nature Trail which traverses a dozen waterfalls, climbing roughly 450 feet
in about 1 ½ miles. Another way to explore the trails is by mountain bike. A
three-mile-long trout stream flows between the Cascades and Lower Cascades golf
courses, gear and permits are available at The Outpost in Hot Springs.
Many guests return year after year, for the
spa and hot springs. An indoor pool is fed by Hot Springs’ 104 degree mineral
water. Also offered are mineral baths, massages, loofah scrubs, combination
baths, a tanning bed, saunas and a steam room. The bathhouses at Warm Springs,
added in the late 1700s and early 1800s, still serve Homestead guests.
For information about staying at The Homestead
call (800) 838-1766 or (540) 839-1766. There are a wide variety of vacation
packages available.
Directions: Take I-64 west to Staunton, then pick up Route 250 west to Route 254.
Take Route 254 west to Route 42, and follow that south to Route 39. Head west
again on Route 39 to Route 220. Take Route 220 south to Hot Springs and The
Homestead. From I-81, traveling south, take the Bridgewater exit, Route 257 and
head west on that to Route 42, then pick up above directions. From Alexandria
take the Beltway, I-495/95, to I-66 and travel west to I-81. Take I-81 south to
I-64 west to Covington. Pick up Route 220 north to Hot Springs.
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TRAVEL
WRITERS WANTED
FREE
trial month in new
"WRITING TO
PUBLISH WORKSHOP."
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