Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 25

M O U N TA I N C U R I O S
shelters as well as angler access to the Back
Fork. Swinging bridges near each end of
the boardwalk connect with a trail on the
other side of creek, creating a two-mile
loop hike. Gillespie is placing interpretive
signs along the way to tell the story of past
businesses and current natural life.
"People are already using it," Gillespie
says.
Although the project is mainly funded
by Gillespie, nearly 60 donors have contributed, including descendants of Capt.
Conrad. Gillespie has minted a boardwalk coin as part of a fundraising effort.
An opening celebration for the boardwalk
will be held in the spring.

The boardwalk connects to a trail to create a two-mile loop.

Capon Springs remains a resort along the West Virginia-Virginia border in the Potomac Highlands
of Hampshire County, West Virginia.

Still, the water kept flowing, and so did
its popularity. During the early 1900s, Capon Water was bottled and distributed up
and down the East Coast, and 25 major
cities had both home and office delivery
of this liquid gold.
More deliveries went to the U.S. Congress.
This water won fans with many, including longtime Congressmen Strom
Thurmond. In a letter dated March 25,
1955, Thurmond praised the "delicious
water," writing, "Perhaps the fact that
American Olympic teams favor the use of
this water accounts in part for their success in competition."
Yet while elected officials loved it,
the Food and Drug Administration railed
against spring water suppliers touting

health benefits, says Bellingham.
"Water was only one on the many
lists of things. There were a lot of lotions
and potions that people were selling that
weren't doing anything. But, then, you
had these spring waters with 50 or 60
years of evidence of doctors prescribing
it and it being helpful to people. So, they
were all lumped in together."
Doctors did, indeed, prescribe Capon
Water-for more than 60 years, Bellingham says.
"Anything from a hangnail to cancer
was cured with Capon Water," says Bellingham. "And we got these couples who
said that after years and years of trying to
conceive, it was only after drinking this
water that something happened. So we
joke and say, 'Oh, it's powerful stuff.'"

Such "powerful stuff" now flows freely
at Capon Springs. It's running in taps. It
fills the swimming pool. It's available in
the spa. And, of course, it's on tables in
pitchers for communal meals in the resort's dining room, a laid-back hall where
men are forbidden to wear neckties.
You can also simply stop at this remote
resort and fill your jugs with Capon Water-for free.
Capon Springs & Farms: 3818 Capon
Springs Rd., Capon Springs, West Virginia;
304-874-3695; caponsprings.net.

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

25


http://www.caponsprings.net

Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019

Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - Intro
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - Cover1
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - Cover2
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 3
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 4
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 5
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 6
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 7
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 8
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 9
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 10
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 11
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Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 21
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Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 25
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 26
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 27
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 28
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 29
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 30
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 31
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Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 34
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 35
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 36
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 37
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 38
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 39
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 40
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Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 73
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - 74
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - Cover3
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2019 - Cover4
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