Carlsbad Visitors Guide 2008 - (Page 4) Carlsbad History A Peek at the Past! hortly after settlers began moving into the area, retired sea captain John Frazier set about drilling a well on his homestead. He struck not drinking water and not oil but mineral water. Laboratory tests revealed the water to have the same mineral properties as the famously therapeutic baths in Karlsbad, Bohemia (now part of the Czech Republic). So Frazier borrowed the name—with a slightly Americanized spelling change. Frazier began graciously offering cool sips to thirsty travelers passing through on the train, and these waters, too, became famous for their apparent healing powers. After three years, Frazier sold his well to German immigrant Gerhard Schutte. Showing a more aggressive business sense, Schutte promptly established the California Land and Mineral Water Company, built a new 100-room hotel, and began touting the fledgling town as “the greatest seaside sanatorium on the Pacific coast— blessed with mineral wells which affect astonishing cures in remarkably brief periods.” The Great Depression of the 1930s saw a distinct downturn in business. The Carlsbad Mineral Springs Hotel went bankrupt, and the famous mineral well was capped. It remained inoperative for some 60 years, until, in 1994, a new well was drilled, and the elegant Alt Karlsbad day spa opened in the beautiful European-style Karlsbad Hanse House on the site of the original well. S Welcome Carlsbad- 4 2008 | Carlsbad Visitors Guide KURT BURKHART
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