Louisiana Cultural Vistas - Fall 2007 - (Page 68) “Taking the Waters”: Louisiana’s early spas To “take the waters” has a long and scinating history. From grand Roman thermae to the elegant and soothing surroundings of a modern-day spa, people have sought the rejuvenating effects of water. Drinking or bathing in spring and mineral-rich water remains a popular pursuit. In America, mineral-spring resorts were widespread during the 19th century. Wherever an analysis of spring water showed that it contained magnesia, iodine, or sulphur, or some other supposedly curative property, a resort was established. Patrons were enticed by the promise that there was scarcely a disease that spring water could not cure or ease. For gout, urological disorders, skin infections, and innumerable other ailments the waters would provide a solution. Whether the springs were in such elaborate establishments as West Virginia’s opulent White Sulphur Springs or much smaller and more modest facilities, they were invariably located in rural settings, giving the impression of a natural paradise. Although the architecture of Louisiana’s resorts never achieved a grandiose scale, the state had its share of mineral spring resorts. Abita Springs in St. Tammany Parish became one such resort destination. The springs were rediscovered — they were known to Native Americans — by a landowner on his property in the mid-19th century. A few years later, in 1867, a medical doctor in Covington declared that Abita’s springs contained minerals with medicinal qualities that could improve health and were especially valuable for invalids. Sensing a business opportunity in this information, a Mrs. F.A. Bossier opened her house and a cottage in Covington for boarders and organized carriage transportation for them from Covington to the springs. The arrival of the railroad to the often remote locations where springs existed brought new patrons and visitors. This was true for Abita. After the East Louisiana Railroad was extended to the village in 1887, the local newspaper boasted that the “curative properties of the waters of the Abita Springs became better known and the general healthfulness of the locality attracted considerable attention.” Later that same year, the newspaper recorded a local building boom — houses, a hotel, a restaurant, and repairs to the Catholic church, among them — and that “Messrs. Poitevent and Farve have just built a commodious pavilion over the Springs.” The open-air pavilion is octagonal in form, which was characteristic of small structures for parks and gardens. Abita’s is carried on brick piers which transition to slender square columns on the upper level. Enormous brackets between the widelyspaced columns help support the upper structure and the roof. These brackets extend so far inwards that they give the impression that the openings are arched, which adds an ornamental touch, as does the decorative wood trim along the edge of the roof. The pavilion’s upper level, enclosed by wooden railings, provided a sitting area where health seekers could inhale the pine-scented air, which was considered a health-giving benefit in itself. The Abita newspaper article of 1887 predicted that the town would become one of the most prominent summer and winter resorts in the South. Although it didn’t quite live up to those expectations, the resort flourished for a few decades and was especially busy in the summer when its hotels and boarding houses were filled with New Orleanians escaping that city’s epidemics. In his book about mineral springs, Mineral Waters of the United States, published in 1927, William E. Fitch noted that Louisiana had 15 spring localities at the beginning of the 20th century. Among them were Chautauqua Springs near Ruston; De Soto Springs in Longstreet, DeSoto Parish (which apparently had waters of exceptional merit); Denham Springs, developed by William Denham after he discovered mineral springs on his property in 1827; Krotz Springs in St. Landry Parish; and White Sulphur Springs in La Salle Parish. After World War I, spas and springs declined in popularity nationwide with the advance of medical knowledge and the exAbita Springs Pavilion (1887), built by resort developers Messrs. Pointevant and Fauvre, allowed guests to relax amid the pine-filled forest. KAREN KINGSLEY 68
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