Botetourt Springs, Virginia
Encyclopedia
Botetourt Springs is a mineral spring
and was a historical settlement on the border of Roanoke County, Virginia
and Botetourt County, Virginia
, United States
. The spring is located 12 mi (19.3 km) from Fincastle
. Botetourt Springs was originally settled in the mid 1700s, growing as a mineral spring resort during the summer, especially after the 1820s.
In its time, it was one of the best known mineral springs in Virginia, and one of the chief sulphuric thermal springs in America. Notable visitors included General Andrew Jackson
and General Lafayette.
. An 1857 book mentioned that Botetourt Springs was a notable resort during the warmer months and that the springs contained magnesia
, sulphur and carbonic acid
".
With the increase in travel on the road west, the hotel and its springs stayed popular through the 1830s. Johnston died in 1833 and was buried on the property. By 1839, with the opening of other hotels in the area, the popularity of Botetourt Springs ebbed and it was closed in 1839.
Johnston's nephew, Edward Johnston, bought the property and converted the hotel to a school, the Roanoke Female Seminary. This seminary was unsuccessful.
In 1842, the property, including the buildings and 600 acres, was purchased by an agent for Valley Union Seminary, a Baptist organization. The seminary, founded in the same year, became Hollins University
. William Carver's spring house still stands on the property.
By 1873, Botetourt Springs had a post office
. It was accessible by travelling nine miles on a turnpike that led from the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad
.
Today, it is part of the suburb of Oldfields
in northern Roanoke
.
Mineral spring
Mineral springs are naturally occurring springs that produce water containing minerals, or other dissolved substances, that alter its taste or give it a purported therapeutic value...
and was a historical settlement on the border of Roanoke County, Virginia
Roanoke County, Virginia
Roanoke County is a county located in the U.S. state of the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of the Roanoke Metropolitan Statistical Area and located within the Roanoke Region of Virginia. As of the 2000 census, the population was 85,778. As of 2010, the population was 92,376...
and Botetourt County, Virginia
Botetourt County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 30,496 people, 11,700 households, and 9,114 families residing in the county. The population density was 56 people per square mile . There were 12,571 housing units at an average density of 23 per square mile...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The spring is located 12 mi (19.3 km) from Fincastle
Fincastle, Virginia
Fincastle is a town in Botetourt County, Virginia, United States. The population was 353 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Botetourt County.Fincastle is part of the Roanoke Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
. Botetourt Springs was originally settled in the mid 1700s, growing as a mineral spring resort during the summer, especially after the 1820s.
In its time, it was one of the best known mineral springs in Virginia, and one of the chief sulphuric thermal springs in America. Notable visitors included General Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...
and General Lafayette.
Geography
Botetourt Springs has two springs, one of sulphur and the other of chalybeateChalybeate
Chalybeate waters, also known as ferruginous waters, are mineral spring waters containing salts of iron.-Name:The word "chalybeate" is derived from the Latin word for steel, "chalybs", which follows from the Greek word "khalups"...
. An 1857 book mentioned that Botetourt Springs was a notable resort during the warmer months and that the springs contained magnesia
Magnesium oxide
Magnesium oxide , or magnesia, is a white hygroscopic solid mineral that occurs naturally as periclase and is a source of magnesium . It has an empirical formula of and consists of a lattice of Mg2+ ions and O2– ions held together by ionic bonds...
, sulphur and carbonic acid
Carbonic acid
Carbonic acid is the inorganic compound with the formula H2CO3 . It is also a name sometimes given to solutions of carbon dioxide in water, because such solutions contain small amounts of H2CO3. Carbonic acid forms two kinds of salts, the carbonates and the bicarbonates...
".
History
The Carvin Lands on Carvin Creek was a 150 acre parcel granted to William Carvin in 1746. Carvin expanded the acreage and his son, William Carvin II, inherited the property. Edward Carvin inherited the Sulphur Springs homeplace and approximately 900 acres from his father, William Carvin II, in 1804. Edward sold the homeplace and 474 acres to Christian and Martin Wingart who sold the land to Charles Johnston in two transactions between 1818 and 1826. Around 1820, Johnston built a hotel and cottages around the spring, naming it Botetourt Springs after the county in which it was located. Jackson was a visitor, as was Lafayette in 1824.With the increase in travel on the road west, the hotel and its springs stayed popular through the 1830s. Johnston died in 1833 and was buried on the property. By 1839, with the opening of other hotels in the area, the popularity of Botetourt Springs ebbed and it was closed in 1839.
Johnston's nephew, Edward Johnston, bought the property and converted the hotel to a school, the Roanoke Female Seminary. This seminary was unsuccessful.
In 1842, the property, including the buildings and 600 acres, was purchased by an agent for Valley Union Seminary, a Baptist organization. The seminary, founded in the same year, became Hollins University
Hollins University
Hollins University is a four-year institution of higher education, a private university located on a campus on the border of Roanoke County, Virginia and Botetourt County, Virginia...
. William Carver's spring house still stands on the property.
By 1873, Botetourt Springs had a post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
. It was accessible by travelling nine miles on a turnpike that led from the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad
Virginia and Tennessee Railroad
The Virginia and Tennessee Railroad was an historic railroad in the Southern United States, much of which is incorporated into the modern Norfolk Southern Railway...
.
Today, it is part of the suburb of Oldfields
Oldfields, Virginia
Oldfields is an unincorporated community in Botetourt County, Virginia, United States....
in northern Roanoke
Roanoke, Virginia
Roanoke is an independent city in the Mid-Atlantic U.S. state of Virginia and is the tenth-largest city in the Commonwealth. It is located in the Roanoke Valley of the Roanoke Region of Virginia. The population within the city limits was 97,032 as of 2010...
.