Maryville in Blount County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)
Montvale Springs
Photographed by Dave W, July 10, 2022
1. Montvale Springs Marker
Montvale Springs and Chihowee Mountain, eight miles south of Maryville, were inhabited by Native Americans for thousands of years. In 1832 Dantel Foute constructed a road from Maryville and built Montvale Springs Hotel, one of Tennessee's first mineral springs resorts. Asa Watson replaced the log hotel in 1853 with the Seven Gables Hotel. Promoted as the fountain of youth, Montvale guests came from around the world. Novelist-poet Sidney Lanier (1843-1881) spent summers there.
The Seven Gables Hotel burned in 1896. Andrew Gamble built a third hotel in 1901. Ludwig Pflanze ran it from 1911 to 1933, when it burned. The YMCA operated the 394-acre Camp Montvale as a summer camp from 1948 to 2005. Sam Furrow purchased it 2008 and placed a conservation easement on it with Foothills Land Conservancy to protect conservation values. Harmony Family Center bought it in 2012 to benefit children, families, and community.
Erected by Tennessee Historical Commission. (Marker Number 1E-125.)
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Environment • Indigenous Peoples and Communities • Parks & Recreational Areas. A significant historical year for this entry is 1832.
Location. 35° 38.705′ N, 83° 57.331′ W. Marker is
this page online
Regionally, this marker is in East Tennessee, in the Great Smoky Mountains, and in Greater Knoxville. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Upper South, in Appalachia, and specifically in Southern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the original Cherokee Nation, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, the State of Franklin, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 8 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: The Black Sulfur Spring (approx. 2.2 miles away); Houston's Station (approx. 6.4 miles away); Chilhowee (approx. 6.7 miles away); Freedman's Institute (approx. 7.3 miles away); The Glascock House (approx. 7.3 miles away); Maryville Polytechnic School (approx. 7.3 miles away); Sam Houston Statue (approx. 7.4 miles away); Pride Mansion (approx. 7½ miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Maryville.
Photographed by Dave W, July 10, 2022
2. Montvale Springs Marker
Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, February 14, 2025
3. Montvale Springs Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on February 16, 2026. It was originally submitted on August 10, 2022, by Dave W of Co, Colorado. This page has been viewed 1,152 times since then and 109 times this year. Last updated on February 15, 2026, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on August 10, 2022, by Dave W of Co, Colorado. 3. submitted on February 15, 2026, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. • James Hulse was the editor who published this page.
Editor’s want-list for this marker. A wide shot of the marker in context. • Can you help?
