The finale in a five-part summer excursion includes a visit to several abandoned schools and the infamous Sweet Springs Resort!
Obtaining legal access to an abandoned site is an exhilarating prospect, particularly when it involves the colossal Sweet Springs Resort in southeastern West Virginia.
Sweet Springs, first discovered in 1764, witnessed its initial development in 1790 when log cabins were constructed to promote the area’s purported health benefits. Later, in 1839, a 110,000-square-foot hotel opened on the property, designed reportedly by Thomas Jefferson – but more likely by one of his assistants, William B. Phillips from the University of Virginia.
The resort swiftly gained popularity, attracting presidents and ordinary citizens alike. Over the years, expansions included the addition of guest cottages, a ballroom, and a bathhouse. Its heyday began to wane after the Civil War, and it briefly closed around 1928 before being sold to the state of West Virginia in 1941 for use as a tuberculosis sanatorium. It later served as a home for the elderly before shuttering in 1993.
Sweet Springs was in danger of becoming yet another derelict site in a state dotted with the remains of many other spring resorts, such as Blue Sulphur Springs, Red Sulphur Springs, and Green Sulphur Springs. A cottage collapsed in the late 1990s, and the spring house partially collapsed in the 2000s. Another residence exhibited obvious signs of bowing bricks. Alarmed by this, the West Virginia Division of Culture and History listed Sweet Springs as an endangered historic resource.
In 2004, Warren Smith purchased Sweet Springs, announcing plans to construct a golf course, an amphitheater, skiing facilities, stables, gardens, and orchards, with the long-range goal of restoring the deteriorating Sweet Springs structures to serve as a showcase for historic preservation. The first project, Smith announced, was to restore the bathhouse. The original bricks were salvaged and will be reused in a future project. Additionally, one resident cottage was restored, and another was stabilized.
Smith’s determination to restore the resort was the primary reason why obtaining legal access was imperative. On a drive back from a conference in Charlottesville, Virginia, I made a point to stop at Sweet Springs to update my photography log and capture exterior images, as well as to note any changes from my first visit in 2003. I had not been on the site for more than five minutes before a black Chevrolet Suburban arrived, and its occupant questioned my presence in a friendly manner.
It did not take long to be granted permission to access the property with a week’s notice. I donated my batch of photographs of Sweet Springs from 2003 to Smith’s office, with the goal of producing an extensive before-and-after photographic record of Sweet Springs during its restoration process. Before the start of the eastern Ohio and West Virginia trip, I confirmed a visit to Sweet Springs to photograph the interiors of every building through written communication, but something became amiss during the journey. During a phone conversation in Clarksburg, West Virginia, Smith declined our interior access, citing the grounds’ unkempt condition and questioning the need for photographs of such a derelict structure.
However, after some persuasion, he relented and granted permission. We departed Clarksburg at dusk and drove five hours to Lewisburg through the night, securing lodging in a motel. Yet, upon arriving at Sweet Springs the following morning, we were met with outright denial of interior access. The photographs we managed to capture – of the exterior – reveal that little has changed since 2009.
In light of the difficulties at Sweet Springs, we decided to depart and make the most of our day in southern West Virginia. The weather, while hot, was at least sunny. Traffic was light, and we were well-rested after driving through the previous night from one end of the state to the other. It did not take long to discover our first find of the day – a four-room house situated on a farm!
Just down the state route, we encountered an abandoned church, which had likely not seen activity in ten or more years. While relatively bare and uninteresting, save for a vintage vending machine, it warranted documentation.
After a satisfying lunch at the Fairview Diner in Union, we made haste to Hinton and conducted a visual inspection of the Lincoln School. The modest three-story school, located on the aptly-named Hill Street, closed in 1962 due to integration and was later used for vocational classes. Remarkably, it remains in good condition for a facility used solely for storage.
Afterward, we ventured to Bluefield to explore the former Beaver High School. The imposing four-story structure, perched on a steep hillside near downtown, served as a high school until 1953 and continued to be used as a junior high school until a new facility opened.
We concluded our journey by driving along U.S. Route 52 through southwestern West Virginia. With daylight fading rapidly, we opted to visit the former Bluestone High School in Bramwell. Constructed in 1948, it served as an elementary and high school for African Americans until its closure in 1963. Although it was later repurposed for a local business, a restoration project for the abandoned school began in 2000 under the direction of a formal Restoration Committee, and the roof was repaired. Apart from this, the building remains derelict.
Exhausted, we parted ways after exploring the Bluestone High School, concluding a lengthy excursion through eastern Ohio and West Virginia, yet one that proved immensely rewarding. I hope you have enjoyed this diverse array of updates, and I invite you to revisit the past entries from this summer’s journey.
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Add Yours →Sweet Springs was recently sold at auction for $600,000. There may be a new opportunity to photograph it.
Warren Smith is dead now.