- Joined
- Nov 26, 2016
- Location
- central NC
(The front entrance to the Greenbrier.)
Guests began coming to White Sulphur Springs to “take the waters” to restore their health in 1778, but it was during the Mid-19th century when the resort began to gain true prominence. During the 1830s Southern politicians, judges, editors, lawyers, diplomats, ministers, planters and merchants began to congregate annually at the "village in the wilderness" during the summer months. The 2,000-foot elevation offered respite from the heat farther south and the humidity down in the lowlands. Folks still flock to the resort each summer for the same reason and stay in the original cottages that remain standing today.
(The original spring at White Sulfur Springs. People came here to drink and bathe in the water, which was thought to have healing power.)
Before the Civil War, five sitting presidents visited and White Sulphur Springs' soon became known as America's most fashionable resort.
(The Presidents' Cottage where visiting presidents resided during their visits. Now it's a museum.)
(View from the second story porch.)
This reputation led to the construction of the first large hotel (apart from the cottages) in 1858. The hotel was named the Grand Central Hotel but affectionately known as “The Old White.”
(Painting of the old White Sulfur Springs resort hotel that was replaced by the current main building in 1913.)
The resort closed to the public during the Civil War. Union troops and Confederate troops occupied the grounds at different times and both used “The Old White” as a hospital or military headquarters. For two years, the grand hotel accommodated up to 1,600 soldiers, and its dining room and parlor were filled with multiple rows of the wounded. According to the National Archives:
“192 Confederate soldiers died during their time at “The Old White”, with many of them passing during late fall into winter. It was during this time, that Confederate General Robert E. Lee made a stop at White Sulphur Springs, as he came down the mountains and into western Virginia. Upon visiting the wounded, Lee first saw the horse he would eventually ride in battle and throughout his later years in life. This horse was born approximately 20 miles from White Sulphur Springs, and was originally named “Greenbrier” by his owner Major Thomas Broun. A year later, Lee met the Major in South Carolina and was given the horse as a gift. Lee kindly turned down the offer as a gift, and demanded Broun take $200 payment for the horse he then named “Traveller”.”
After the war ended, the resort was repaired and reopened to the public. General Lee and his family visited and stayed in "Baltimore G" - also known as “Lee Cottage” for three consecutive years. The Presidents’ Cottage Museum features a large wall mural showing General Lee and his family on the cottage porch. The cottage is still standing and available for rental. It boasts an historical placard. The Presidents' Cottage Museum is open for guests to tour at their leisure. I'll post some more pics from inside later.
General Robert E. Lee's single post-war political statement was made at the Greenbrier when he led a group of prominent Southern leaders vacationing at the resort in drafting and signing what became known as “The White Sulphur Manifesto'' of 1868. This document, widely reprinted in newspapers across the country, declared that, in the minds of these men, questions of secession from the Union and slavery "were decided by war,'' and that, upon the reestablishment of self-governance in the South, the Southern people would “faithfully obey the Constitution and laws of the United States, treat the Negro populations with kindness and humanity and fulfill every duty incumbent on peaceful citizens, loyal to the Constitution of their country.'' The war was truly over.
In 1869, one of the most famous photographs ever taken at White Sulphur Springs included Robert E. Lee and a group of former Confederate Generals, among them P.G.T. Beauregard of Louisiana. Union General William S. Rosecrans visited General Lee one summer at the Greenbrier.
With the completion of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway in 1873, the resort became more popular than ever.
The current owner of the Greenbrier is Jim Justice, the governor of West Virginia. He recently had a chapel constructed on the property in hopes of generating more wedding business for the resort. We attended a lovely cantata there on Christmas Day.
(Above the North Entrance to the Greenbrier.)
Last edited: