Thursday, February 13, 2014

Visitors to Cold Spring Index

During the nearly fifty year period that a large hotel stood on the site (1850-1900), thousands of people visited Cold Spring as guests at the hotel, for short and extended stays, as day-trippers, there for pleasure and business, and as passersby, like hunters stopping for a cold drink of spring water or a quick meal.  Cold Spring reportedly attracted visitors from nearby towns and cities like Harrisburg, Lebanon, Pottsville and Reading, and more distant places like Philadelphia, Baltimore and New York City, and even farther away.  These visitors were composed of: wealthy and socially prominent people, as well as those of less substantial means; the young and the old; individuals, couples, families and groups.  They arrived by train, carriage, wagon, horse, foot, and bicycle.  They came to Cold Spring for many reasons, for rest and relaxation, for business meetings and social events, to benefit from the spring waters, and to enjoy the many pleasurable activities and amusements available to visitors.

We always thought how wonderful, how interesting and informative it would be, if a Cold Spring hotel register would be found.  Unfortunately, no known registers exist, the latest possibly burned in the September 1900 fire that destroyed the hotel buildings.  It is possible – and we hope so – that a hotel register one day may be discovered hidden away in a dusty attic of a family member of one of the hotel proprietors.

Since the likelihood of such a discovery is slight, we decided to peruse the numerous Cold Spring-related newspaper articles and other research we’ve accumulated over the past twenty years or so, in order to compile a list of a good many of the people who visited the Cold Spring Hotel and Summer Resort site from 1850 through the end of the year 1900.  We decided to tackle this project to learn more about the people who visited Cold Spring, and for the fun of enabling others to find out if any of their relatives might have visited Cold Spring.

Check out the Visitors to Cold Spring Index  and let us know if you’re related to anyone listed!

Update notices for the index will be posted on Twitter, Facebook and this blog.

Feel free to leave comments, ask questions, share information and photos on the subject of Cold Spring.  Contact us at email.

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