Over 100 years ago, if you'd been standing in the spot where the
cache is hidden today, you would've seen the Mount Morrison Casino
to the north. The hotel/casino was a large stone building located
where the nursing home stands today. This hotel was originally
built around 1880 and called the Swiss Cottage. It later became the
Hotel Evergreen and was later used by the Jesuit Society.
Eventually, it was purchased by John Brisben Walker and became the
Mount Morrison Casino. The top entertainers of the time played at
the casino and presidents Theodore Roosevelt, Warren g. Harding and
Herbert Hoover all stayed there over the years.
The hotel provided guests with fresh water piped from a spring
at the base of Falcon Mountain (known today as Mt. Falcon). Close
to where the horseshoe pits are today, there was once a large
swimming pool 100 feet in length with a 120 foot pergola that
provided shade for the bathers. The pool was filled with heated
water pumped from nearby Bear Creek.
Water from hot sulphur springs nearby was used in private baths
in the hotel.
Verandas along the hotel helped cool the guests on even the warmest
days.
Over the years, the hotel gradually fell into a state of
disrepair. In the 1970s, the building was demolished and a nursing
home was built in its place.
Today, the town of Mount Morrison is known simply as Morrison.
While the historic Mount Morrison Casino no longer stands, there
are many other historic sites around town. If you'd like to know
more, feel free to contact me.
Congrats to morgentd on the FTF less than 30 minutes after the
cache was listed!