Webster Springs Hotel

Webster Springs Hotel. . , By the late 19th century, visionaries had begun to see the potential of the natural beauty of Webster Springs and the "therapeutic" value of the sulphur waters. In 1897, a small hotel was built by Johnson Camden on the lower end of this bottom. By 1902 Camden had sold this hotel to James McGraw who built a railroad into Webster Springs and increased the hotel to the largest in West Virginia, rivaling the even more illustrious Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs., The hotel, which encompassed this entire bottom, boasted 176 guest rooms, a dining room that seated 200 people, a sun parlor and four general parlors, a spacious writing room for the ladies', large ball room and more. Additionally, the building was steam heated, had the first passenger elevator in the state had it's own electrical generator., The exceptional quality of the mineral waters that flowed naturally from springs in this valley soon gained a national reputation and visitors traveled to Webster Springs to enjoy the beauty of this pristine land, its cool, dry climate and its reviving waters., On July 20th 1925 the hotel burned. The great conflagration completely destroyed the building and the glow of the fire reportedly could be seen as far away as Elkins., Just below this sign is one of the sulphur wells (now sealed) which made this hotel possible.