Hampton Springs Hotel

The Hampton Springs Hotel was built in 1908 and was destroyed by fire in 1954. It became world renowned for its sulphur springs and baths, known for their healing and medicinal powers. The luxurious resort featured lush gardens with elaborate fountains and planters, a covered pool with foot baths fed by the springs, a golf course, tennis courts, stables, a casino, a grand ballroom, an outdoor dance pavilion, and a railroad depot. Its nine-hole golf course was among the first in the region. The hotel had its own bottling plant and shipped healing sulphur water nationwide, operated its own power plant, and grew and raised most of the food served in its dining room at the hotel farm. It also maintained a private hunting and fishing lodge on Spring Creek six miles from the hotel site and an excursion boat with a covered launch. From the mid 1930s to mid 40s, it served as barracks for military personnel testing aircraft at Perry-Foley Airport in nearby Perry. Archaeological excavations at the site revealed the formation of the hotel and its outbuildings.

Florida · United States