i . , Form 10-300 UNITED STATES D E P A R T M E N T OF T H E INTERIOR

(Ju l y 1969) N A T I O N A L PARK SERVICE

S T A T E : West V i r g i n i a

C O U N T Y . 1

(Check One)

Pub l i c Acqu is i t ion : ' Occupied Yes: e] D i s t r i c t a Bu i l d i ng a Pub'ic Rest r ic ted

0 I n Process . Site @ structure 0 Private a Unrest r ic ted

Both 0 Be ing cons idered 0 p ~ e s e r v a t ~ o n work C] Oblect i n p r o g r e s s

NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM

I

P R E S E N T U S E (Check One or .More as Avprc ' "

Monroe

F O R NPS USE ONLY

E N T R Y N U M B E R D A T E

- .J Agricultural 3 Government Park

Commerciol C Indust r ia l P r i va te Residenc

[7 Educot iono l a Mi l i t a r y Re l i g i ous

C] Entertainment Museum Sc ien t i f i c

( T y p e all entries - complete applicable sections) < >'.

I . . [ I . NAME

COMMON

OLD SWEET SPRINGS AND, O R H I S T O R I C '

-- Andrew S . Rowan M e m o r i a l Home 2, LOCATtON

S T R E E T A N C N U M B E R :

R o u t e 3 4

C l T Y OR TOWN'

t 0 Transportotton @ Comments

Owned by Home f o r t h e

o f W. Va. I

14. OWNER O F PROPERTY c

OWNER'S N A M E

Office o f P u b l i c I n s t i t u t i o n s

S T R E E T A N D N U M B E R

C h a r l e s t o n --

LEGAL-DESCR~PTION R E G I S T R Y O F D E E D S E T

S T R E E T A N D N U M B E R :

S T A T E

IN EXISTING SURVEYS - ___I_( T I T L E O F S U R V E Y

I 0

D A T E O F S U R V E Y . Federa l State County C L o c a l I z m D E P O S I T O R Y F O R S U R V E Y R E C O R D S :

c Z I P

I a -

S T R E E T A N 0 N U M B E R : 7-

'-, i 1 ' - z

r < C l T Y OR TOWN:

0 P i m

DESCRIPTION - -- -I- (Cheek One)

0 Excellent @ Good F a i r Deteriorated Ruin* Ll Unexposed CONDITION t --

(Check One) (Check One) I 0 Altered 0 Unaltered n M O V O ~ O r i g ~ n a l Site

) E S C R l e E T H E P R E S E N T A N D O R I G I N A L ( i f known) P H Y S I C A L A P P E A R A N C E

The deed of 1903 conveying property to the Old Sweet Springs Corporation involved 1788% acres, but we are only concerned in preserving an area of approximately 8.5 acres. The history of Old Sweet Springs compiled by West Virginia State officials after the purchase of the property in 1941 places the building of most of the existing structures prior to the Civil War. "This would include the Jefferson Building, four two- story guest homes, and the Ball Building. Even earlier is the Elbow Row cottage$ The church-like bath house is a later replacement for an original wooden building.

It is doubtful if anything survives of the 18th Century wood structures.

When the State took over the property in the early 40's ,' extensive renovations were undertaken initially costing nearly $150,000, added to the purchase price of $150,000. Certainly more has been expended since, but the external appearance of the old buildings has been honored. The Jefferson Building has been altered considerably in the interior to accommodate office and medical needs and a wing was added at the rear. The buildings constructed of hand-made brick are still in good condition.

An artist's conception of the development plans for Old Sweet, drawn in 1857, demonstrate that about half of the original ambitious scheme became reality.

ERIOD (Check One or More as Approprlafe)

0 Pre-Columbian l 0 16th Century 0 18th Century 0 20th Century 15th Century 0 17th Century 19th Century

PECI FI C D A T E1Sl (If Applicable and Known)

R E A ~ O F SIGN, FICANCE (Check One or More as Appropriate)

Abor iginol a Education 0 Political C Urban Planning Prehistoric 0 Engineering = Religion/Phi. a Other (Specify)

0 Historic 0 Industry losophy Recreation 0 Apriculture Invention 0 Science 0 Architecture Landscope Sculpture

0 Art Architecture a Soc~al/Human- 0 Commerce 0 Literature itarian

0 Communications 0 Military Theater

0 Conservation 0 Music Transportat~on

~

rATEMENT O F SIGNIFICANCE - y Old Sweet Springs, in Monroe County, West Virginia, is one of ~rnerica's - oldest mineral water resorts and, as it stands today, better than any othe complex reflects the vacationing aspect of the country's fashionable society just as it functioned more than a c-entury ago.

The extensive buildings, most of brick, some of wood, now serve as the State-owned Andrew S. Rowan Memorial Home for the aged. Rowan, a resident of a nearby village, was the much-publicized deliverer of the "message to Garcia" during the Spanish-American War.

Sweet Springs's history is intertwined with the fortunes of the descendant of John Lewis "the Emigrant," who was born in Donegal, Ireland, in 1678, but fled to this country in the late 1720's after he had killed an oppressive landlord who had murdered his invalid brother. Tradition has it that he and his sons William and Andrew, of Revolutionary War fame, explored the area in 1754.

By 1760 a James Moss is presumed to have built a cabin at Sweet Springs, but since he had no title he had to vacate in 1774 when King George I11 gave land patents to the Lewis family that same year. William Lewis built a two-story cabin more than a mile from the Springs, in present Virginia, but in 1783 moved west to the Springs, from where he continued to develop and promote the waters as a resort until 1802, when it passed out of his hands.

Several surviving accounts show Sweet Springs to have been functioning actively in the 1790fs, accommodating an average of fifty patrons in

\ "logge cabbins. "

William Lewis planned a community of "Fortville," with all shops excluded from the residential area, but his dream failed to materialize as did his plans for an elaborate courthouse, although a circuit court serving a four-county area functioned there from 1795 to 1817, Lewis absorbing some criticism because he had used the courthouse and jail, when available as guest accommodations.

A suit carried on in the court in 1802 is of considerable interest, involving as it did President Thomas Jefferson and Vice-president Aaron Burr, whom Jefferson accused of invading lands he had leased in Monroe County. The litigation was doubtless handled by representatives of the two men.

NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTOR lC PLACES I C O U N ~ '

1

Form 10-POa . UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR . (JUIY 1969) NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

t E N T R Y N U M B E R D A T E (Cmtinuation Sheet) I

(Number all entrle*)

8

S T A T E

West Virginia

INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM

The beautiful main building at Sweet Springs was constructed in the Jeffersl tradition, but since it was built after his death in 1826 it is hardly probable, despite many affirmations to the contrary, that he was the archi- tect. Dr. Frederick Nichols, of the architectural department at the University of Virginia, observes that the building is in the Jefferson tradition and may have been built by someone in contact with Jefferson.

Monroe

FOR NPS USE ONLY

Of course persons prominent in the new federal society must have used the resort, but evidence of this is scanty. In later years, the names of Pierce and Fillmore appear on the register, and a letter written by Henry Clay was sent from there.

The tradition of a Jerome Bonaparte courtship and marriage there seems to have stemmed entirely from the filming of a movie version of "Glorious Betsy" at Sweet Springs. Nevertheless the film inspired a group of easterners to form a company and purchase the Old Sweet in 1929.

In 1852 three prominent persons - General John Echols, Senator Allen Taylor Caperton, and the wealthy Oliver Bierne, formed a corporation and projected an extensive building program on a semi-circular plan. About half of this plan was completed, giving us the existing quarter-circle of brick houses still standing.

The Springs went into receivership in 1930. The State purchase was made from R. N. Taylor, of Roanoke, in 1941.

Early writers on the Springs of Virginia, including Burke and Moorman, give prominence to the Old Sweet. It is not as old as Berkeley, nor has it survived as long as White Sulphur as a resort, but more than either, its buildings preserve a faithful reflection of resort life of the preceding century.

1 Logan, Frances. The Old Sweet: Biographx of 2 Spring. Roanoke, Va. 1

I

( Morgantown Y

j12. S T A T E LlAiSON O F F l C E R C E R f lFiCA I )Off

I

_

I I I .---

[I%. FORM PREPARED BY - . - N A M E A N 0 T I T L E .

Clifford M. Lewis, S.J., for,

As the designated Sta te L i a ~ s o n Officer for the Na-

t ional His tor lc Preserva t lon Act of 19hG ( P u b l i c Law

89-6653. I hereby nominate t h l s property for inc lus ion

in t h e Nat iona l Regis te r and cert ify that it h a s been

eva lua ted a c c o r d ~ n g to t h e cri ter ia and p r o c e d r e s s e t

forth by the National P a r k Service. The recommended

leve l of s ign i f icance of t h i s nomlnatlon is:

Nat iona l S ta te L o c a l

- 1. -__ -

O R G A N 1 Z A T I O N

Name

D A T E

T i t l e State Liaison Officer

1 _ _ _ _ -- -

D a t e

West Virginia Antiquities Commission S T R E E T A N D N U M B E R '

Old Mountainlair, West Virginia University

I hereby cer t i fy that t h i s property is included in the

Nationa 1 Regis te r .

L A T I T U D E A N D L O N G I T U D E C O O R O I N A T E S

oEFINING A R E C T A ~ G L ~ L O ~ A T I N G THE PRO PERT^

C I T Y O R T O W N S T A T E

Chief , Off ice of Archeology and His tor ic Preserva t lon

0 R

C O R N E R L A T I T U D E

D e g r e e s M ~ n u t e s S e c o n d s

0

0

C O D E

D a t e

A T T E S T :

L O N G I T U D E

D e g r e e s M i n u t e s S e c o n d s

0

0 . 0

0

A P P R O X I K A T E A C R E A G E O F N O M I N A T E D P R O P E R T Y : - - L I S T A L L S T A T E S A N 0 C O U N T I E S F O R P R O P E R T I E S O V E R L A P P I N G S T A T E O R C O U N T Y B O U N O A R I E ~

West Virginia 54 NATIONAL REGtSTER V E R l F l C A T I O N

Keeper of T h e National R e g i s t e r

L A T I T U D E A N D L O N G I T U O E C 0 O R D l N A T E S

D E F I N I N G T H E C E N T E R P O I N T O F A

O F L E S S T H A N T F N A C R E S

L a t e

G P O 9 0 1 - 0 8 '

L A T I T U D E

D e g r e e s M ~ n u t e s Seconds

3 7 37' 45

S T A T E

S T A T E

S T A T E .

S T A T E '

L O N G 1 T U D C

D e g r e e s M ~ n u t e s S e c o n d s

80" 14' 3 0

C O U N T Y

C O U N T Y

C O U N T Y

C O U N T Y

C O D E

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C O D E

C O D E

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( N o t t o sc : i lc )

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