The restorative qualities of the mineral springs here attracted settlement in the early 1800s. Variously known as Chunn Springs after Lancelot Chunn and Manning Springs after Robert Manning, the spot was developed as a resort where a hotel and surrounding cabins were erected between 1818 and 1823. By 1834, when the first post office was established, it was called White Sulphur Springs. Jean Joseph Giers acquired the hotel and surrounding property in 1856 and renamed it "Valhermoso Springs." Into the 20th century, travelers from all over the world came to the hotel and springs seeking relief from rheumatism, insomnia, consumption, and ailments of the skin, kidneys, stomach, and liver. The hotel closed in the 1920s and was destroyed by tornado in 1950.