Chick Springs
Encyclopedia
Chick Springs is a mineral springs
in present-day Taylors
, Greenville County
, South Carolina
, which from the mid-nineteenth to the early twentieth century served as the focus of a small Upstate South Carolina resort community.
The healing power of the mineral waters was known to Native Americans living near the Enoree River
, and several early European visitors commented on them, including the architect Robert Mills
, who in 1826 described the perfectly clear water as smelling strongly “like the washings of a gun barrel” and claimed it to be useful in “curing ring worms and other cutaneous disorders.”
In 1840, planter Burwell Chick opened a resort at the location, building a “large and commodious hotel.” He also allowed some individual "cottages" to be built on the property. After Chick’s death in 1847, the enterprise continued under two of his sons, Pettus and Reuben. By the 1850s, when the railroad had reached the Upstate, the resort attracted hundreds of visitors at a time and boosted the local economy, farmers “for ten and twenty miles around” finding a market for their livestock and produce.
A visiting Catholic priest found the resort “like all watering-places,” largely “patronized by those in quest of pleasure or matrimonial alliances.” A reporter in 1854 noted “the whole house busy” with “five or six tables of whist
parties below the piazzas, two or three card tables employed in the drawing room, two pianos accompanied by sweet voices, one billiard table, at which the balls were constantly cracking, a nine-pin alley, and a great many outsiders and lookers on busily engaged in smoking their cigars. Some were walking to the spring, and at the spring house some were pitching quoits
for exercise after drinking the sulphur and chalybeate
water.” The reporter further noted the dissection of a fresh watermelon
and evening dances that often lasted until midnight.
The Chick brothers sold the property in 1857. On the afternoon of November 4, 1862, the hotel caught fire and burned to the ground. In 1868 the Chicks repurchased the property, then in 1885 sold it to George Westmoreland, an Atlanta lawyer, who put up a new hotel and several cottages.
Westmoreland’s venture appears to have been unsuccessful. In 1903, he sold the property to prosperous Greenville grocer and entrepreneur James A. Bull, who greatly enlarged the hotel. In 1905, Bull had 4000 guests from May to October. The grounds of his 117 acres included pavilions, croquet
grounds, tennis courts, and golf links. Guests could participate in bowling
, archery
, target shooting, swimming
, and horseback riding. The hotel featured telegraph and long-distance telephone lines, and New York and Washington newspapers could be purchased on the evening of publication. Bull also bottled the spring water for sale.
In December 1907, Bull’s hotel also burned, although Bull had his own firefighting apparatus and saved most of the outlying buildings and cottages. In 1914, Bull completed an even larger $100,000 hotel “of Spanish architecture, three stories in height, fireproof, and with all the modern equipment and facilities.” Bull’s venture was unsuccessful, and the property briefly served from 1916 to 1917 as a military academy. Bull then promoted a combination hotel and sanitarium
under the direction of a graduate of the University of Georgia
, Dr. Benjamin Broadus Steedly, an enterprise that closed shortly after Steedly’s death in 1932.
Bottling mineral water from the springs remained profitable, and in 1927, the Chick Springs Ginger Ale Company was incorporated to manufacture carbonated beverages. The Company also constructed a swimming pool and opened a park that included picnic facilities and a large dance floor. The business failed during the Depression
, and the acres around the mineral spring reverted to the Bull family.
By the 21st century only the spring house and a picnic gazebo remained of the former resort. A Chick Springs Historical Society was organized in 2008 with the goal of purchasing and preserving as a park the seven-acre site around the springs.
Mineral Springs
Mineral Springs is the name of several locations in the United States:* Mineral Springs, Arkansas* Mineral Springs, North Carolina* Mineral Springs Township, North Dakota* Mineral Springs at Green Springs, Ohio...
in present-day Taylors
Taylors, South Carolina
Taylors is a census-designated place in Greenville County, United States. The population was 20,125 at the 2000 census. Taylors is the Greenville/Spartanburg area's largest suburb although it is not incorporated as a city. It is part of the Greenville–Mauldin–Easley Metropolitan...
, Greenville County
Greenville County, South Carolina
- External Links :*...
, South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
, which from the mid-nineteenth to the early twentieth century served as the focus of a small Upstate South Carolina resort community.
The healing power of the mineral waters was known to Native Americans living near the Enoree River
Enoree River
The Enoree River is a tributary of the Broad River, 85 mi long, in northwestern South Carolina in the United States . Via the Broad and Congaree Rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Santee River, which flows to the Atlantic Ocean ....
, and several early European visitors commented on them, including the architect Robert Mills
Robert Mills (architect)
Robert Mills , most famously known for designing the Washington Monument, is sometimes called the first native born American to become a professional architect, though Charles Bulfinch perhaps has a clearer claim to this honor...
, who in 1826 described the perfectly clear water as smelling strongly “like the washings of a gun barrel” and claimed it to be useful in “curing ring worms and other cutaneous disorders.”
In 1840, planter Burwell Chick opened a resort at the location, building a “large and commodious hotel.” He also allowed some individual "cottages" to be built on the property. After Chick’s death in 1847, the enterprise continued under two of his sons, Pettus and Reuben. By the 1850s, when the railroad had reached the Upstate, the resort attracted hundreds of visitors at a time and boosted the local economy, farmers “for ten and twenty miles around” finding a market for their livestock and produce.
A visiting Catholic priest found the resort “like all watering-places,” largely “patronized by those in quest of pleasure or matrimonial alliances.” A reporter in 1854 noted “the whole house busy” with “five or six tables of whist
Whist
Whist is a classic English trick-taking card game which was played widely in the 18th and 19th centuries. It derives from the 16th century game of Trump or Ruff, via Ruff and Honours...
parties below the piazzas, two or three card tables employed in the drawing room, two pianos accompanied by sweet voices, one billiard table, at which the balls were constantly cracking, a nine-pin alley, and a great many outsiders and lookers on busily engaged in smoking their cigars. Some were walking to the spring, and at the spring house some were pitching quoits
Quoits
Quoits is a traditional game which involves the throwing of metal, rope or rubber rings over a set distance, usually to land over or near a spike . The sport of quoits encompasses several distinct variations.-The history of quoits:The history of quoits is disputed...
for exercise after drinking the sulphur and chalybeate
Chalybeate
Chalybeate waters, also known as ferruginous waters, are mineral spring waters containing salts of iron.-Name:The word "chalybeate" is derived from the Latin word for steel, "chalybs", which follows from the Greek word "khalups"...
water.” The reporter further noted the dissection of a fresh watermelon
Watermelon
Watermelon is a vine-like flowering plant originally from southern Africa. Its fruit, which is also called watermelon, is a special kind referred to by botanists as a pepo, a berry which has a thick rind and fleshy center...
and evening dances that often lasted until midnight.
The Chick brothers sold the property in 1857. On the afternoon of November 4, 1862, the hotel caught fire and burned to the ground. In 1868 the Chicks repurchased the property, then in 1885 sold it to George Westmoreland, an Atlanta lawyer, who put up a new hotel and several cottages.
Westmoreland’s venture appears to have been unsuccessful. In 1903, he sold the property to prosperous Greenville grocer and entrepreneur James A. Bull, who greatly enlarged the hotel. In 1905, Bull had 4000 guests from May to October. The grounds of his 117 acres included pavilions, croquet
Croquet
Croquet is a lawn game, played both as a recreational pastime and as a competitive sport. It involves hitting plastic or wooden balls with a mallet through hoops embedded into the grass playing court.-History:...
grounds, tennis courts, and golf links. Guests could participate in bowling
Bowling
Bowling Bowling Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule...
, archery
Archery
Archery is the art, practice, or skill of propelling arrows with the use of a bow, from Latin arcus. Archery has historically been used for hunting and combat; in modern times, however, its main use is that of a recreational activity...
, target shooting, swimming
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
, and horseback riding. The hotel featured telegraph and long-distance telephone lines, and New York and Washington newspapers could be purchased on the evening of publication. Bull also bottled the spring water for sale.
In December 1907, Bull’s hotel also burned, although Bull had his own firefighting apparatus and saved most of the outlying buildings and cottages. In 1914, Bull completed an even larger $100,000 hotel “of Spanish architecture, three stories in height, fireproof, and with all the modern equipment and facilities.” Bull’s venture was unsuccessful, and the property briefly served from 1916 to 1917 as a military academy. Bull then promoted a combination hotel and sanitarium
Sanitarium
Sanitarium may refer to:*An alternate spelling of sanatorium, a medical facility for long-term illness or a summer resort.*Sanitarium, California, in Napa County*Battle Creek Sanitarium, made famous by John Harvey Kellogg...
under the direction of a graduate of the University of Georgia
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...
, Dr. Benjamin Broadus Steedly, an enterprise that closed shortly after Steedly’s death in 1932.
Bottling mineral water from the springs remained profitable, and in 1927, the Chick Springs Ginger Ale Company was incorporated to manufacture carbonated beverages. The Company also constructed a swimming pool and opened a park that included picnic facilities and a large dance floor. The business failed during the Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, and the acres around the mineral spring reverted to the Bull family.
By the 21st century only the spring house and a picnic gazebo remained of the former resort. A Chick Springs Historical Society was organized in 2008 with the goal of purchasing and preserving as a park the seven-acre site around the springs.