Archival Adventures: Craig Healing Springs
Archival Adventures: Craig Healing Springs
It's time for an adventure! This week we're heading to 1924 to learn about the Craig Healing Springs resort located in Craig County, Virginia. Located approximately 10 miles west of New Castle, Virginia, Craig Healing Springs joined a number of other area health resorts that gained renown in the late 19th and early 20th centuries for the professed healing properties of their mineral waters. The presence of "yellow spring waters" on the property was documented as early as 1796, but the remoteness of the springs hindered commercial development for nearly a century. Around 1885, a hotel was built on the property (though newspapers of the day indicate that the springs offered accommodations to visitors at least a year prior to the hotel's construction). Soon afterward, Martin Hoffman purchased the property from 11 fellow investors and christened the property "All Healing Springs." The springs benefited from the extension of rail travel to nearby New Castle; large-scale development and incorporation of the resort by the Craig Healing Springs Company occurred in 1909. The resort remained a popular destination through the early decades of the 20th century, but as with many other such resorts, the resort's business declined in the years following World War II. In 1960, the property was purchased as a retreat and conference center by the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Virginia.
Join our community collections archivist, Anthony Wright de Hernandez, for a livestream on Twitch! Every week we explore and discuss materials from Special Collections and University Archives covering topics including university history, NASA pioneers, architecture, science fiction, cooking, LGBTQ+ history, Black history, urban legends, and more. Recordings of previous streams are available on the Libraries' Youtube page.
If you are an individual with a disability and desire an accommodation, welcome! Please email library-event-accessibility@groups.office365.vt.edu at least 10 days prior to the event.
- Date:
- Wednesday, January 21, 2026 Show more dates
- Time:
- 3:00pm - 5:00pm
- Audience:
- Advanced Alumni Beginners Faculty/Staff Graduate Students Postdoc Public Undergraduates
- Categories:
- Event > Livestream
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Contact:
Email Me
Community Collections Archivist
Special Collections and University Archives (0434)