SKAGGS HOT SPRINGS [SONOMA COUNTY]

Curtis, Peter L.

Published by Privately published, No place listed, 1855

About this Item

6 x 6" single fold brochure with green printing on white paper. Illustrated with three photos and a map, which show the location of the springs. Just hints of wear to extremities, corners square and flat, no separation at the fold, else fine with no markings. Skaggs Hot Springs was located southwest of Cloverdale, California, near Stewart?s Point. It began as an attraction in the 1850?s with waters from five springs directed into bathhouses and pools. By the 1870?s Skaggs Springs Resort was welcoming 300 guests a day arriving by stagecoach. It was developed by Alexander Skaggs and flourished until the Depression. Alexander Skaggs and his brother, William, laid claim in 1857 to 160 acres of land in the public domain, a site where three different hot springs bubbled from crevices in the rock formations. They built a redwood hotel in 1864, and an addition the next year. By 1877, with the help of the new railroad to Healdsburg, that hotel played host to 300 people on a good day. Most of them were from San Francisco, or cities in Marin and Sonoma Counties. Founder Alexander Skaggs managed the resort until about 1867, after which he rented the resort to a series of managers. In 1873 under mysterious circumstances, the hotel building burned to the ground. The resort finally closed in 1942. Work on the Warm Spring Dam on Dry Creek was finished in 1983 and by 1985 the valley was fully flooded and became Lake Sonoma. Thus, Skaggs Hot Springs disappeared beneath Lake Sonoma. It is said that you can still feel the warm springs at certain points in the lake. This is a rare brochure, undated, but, given the price $4.50 per day for adults, including meals, baths and amusements (as the brochure says), it seems likely that this advertising brochure was produced in the 1860s. It still announces hotel accommodations for 150 guests. The brochure includes information on the hot springs, a detailed analysis of the water, prices and instructions on how to reach the location.

Seller Inventory # 009023

Bibliographic Details

• Title: SKAGGS HOT SPRINGS [SONOMA COUNTY]
• Publisher: Privately published, No place listed
• Publication Date: 1855
• Binding: No Binding
• Condition: Fine