Bath, Berkeley Springs, West Virginia
One day last weekend we sent south to see Berkeley Springs in West Virginia.
One of the earliest colonial visitors to these springs was George Washington. From the time he was sixteen, when he first visited while surveying in 1748, Washington visited the area, owned land, and bathed in and around Berkeley Springs.
Although the area around the warm springs was named Bath in 1776, it is known throughout the world by it’s 1802 post office name, Berkeley Springs. The colonial elite made it the country’s first spa. Founders and buyers of the first lots sold in 1777 to George and Samuel Washington
as well as three signers of the Declaration and Constitution, two Revolutionary War generals and half a dozen members of the Continental Congress.
Lord Fairfax originally owned the warm, 74 degree temperature springs. The mineral composition and the 1500 gallon per minute flow remain unchanged. It is now a state park in the middle of the town.
The museum is located on the second floor of of the historic Roman Bath house, which was built in 1815. On the ground floor, it has nine individual bathing chambers with tubs that hold 750 gallons of mineral water heated to 102 degrees.
Open for use, we of course had to have the experience of soaking!
A huge castle looks over the town. It is a private residence, and was originally built as a summer cottage in 1885 out of local sandstone.
Above, and west of the town there is a Panorama Overlook, seeing West Virginia on the left, and Maryland on the right of the Potomac River. Just south is the juncture with the Cacapon River, and a small town Great Cacapon. Nearby, Washington owned 240 acres of riverfront land.
A scenic railroad bridge is over the Cacapon River as you enter the small town.
We are intrigued by the area.
Close to the camp is a beautiful covered bridge
The barns in the area are beautiful and unique. The top story comes out over the bottom, and the brick work often displays a design, like this one with the horse at the top!
and this one was just so pristine
and this had some pretty decorations on top!
This is the last day of the job here. We had a great team!
We will be staying for a couple more days before moving on. We have two weeks to get to New Hampshire, which is about 530 miles.
posted by paul and bonnie @ 5:36 PM
3 Comments:
Hey this is Jeremy Johnson, Andy and karen's old neighbors. I stumbled across your blog on Karen's. What a great surprise to see you were in Berkeley Springs. that is the town my dad grew up in. To driveway you pulled over in to take a picture of the castle was his childhood home's. The main street there in town in named Johnson Mill Rd. after my grandfather, adn the museum an inn there in the town park were started by my grandparents. Small world! Safe travels!
Jeremy
sorry for the spelling. Darn iphone!
Also, my family still has a great “camp” on the Cacapon River just down the mountain if you are ever back in the area!
One other “small world” note. My uncle used to own the restaurant where you stopped at the Potomac overlook. I think it is now closed.
Post a Comment
<< Home