Gray Mineral Spring Traditional Cache

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Erie Guy: No trespassing signs now.

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Hidden : 10/23/2011
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size: micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:


One day in early 1860 as Dr. John Gray was walking along the banks of French Creek carrying a metal probing rod, he stopped to "lean and contemplate." When he did, the rod suddenly sank into the ground. Dr. Gray pulled the rod from the ground, thinking he had struck "black gold", but a jet of crystal spring water spurt forth instead. Doctor Gray then forced an old gun barrel into the opening, and the water flowed freely for the next 15 years. Although Dr. Gray was not too excited about this "water discovery," it was the turning point for the quiet little town of Cambridgeboro. Soon, rumors began spreading around town that the men who worked on Gray's Farm and drank from the spring never got sick or were cured of diseases that they had. In 1884, Dr. Gray took a patient to Hot Springs, Arkansas, and was struck by the similarity of its water and that from his spring along French Creek. Once home, he began prospecting in earnest, making more openings in the soil and discovering four more jets of the same "charged" spring water. He then began testing the water for medicinal purposes, treating cases of dyspepsia and kidney and liver complaints. He wrote that the "waters, unassisted, affected many cures." Determined to give the world the benefit of the water's healing powers, Dr. Gray erected a spring house and began selling mineral water at a "nominal price."

The popularity of mineral water therapy quickly changed the calm, rural community of Cambridgeboro into a bustling resort center patronized by visitors from all over the world! The "boom" effect even gave the town a new name. In 1897, Cambridgeboro was officially renamed Cambridge Springs. By 1903, the "change" had become a total makeover. More than 40 hotels, springs houses, and rooming houses welcomed visitors. The mineral water was the firm foundation of an industry which offered everything from baths to bottling works. Among the hotels were health resorts of all kinds, which included all kinds of baths - Russian, Turkish, cabinet, electrical, sea salt, mineral, and needle. By the early 1900s, eight trains per day brought guests to the now-famous resort. The mineral water drew enthusiasts from all over. The town's "healing water" was so much in demand that a rail line was built between New York City and Chicago...with Cambridge Springs as its halfway point. In 1899 a bridge of rough poles was constructed across the pasture between the Hotel and the Spring house.

Early in the 1900's it was replaced by a better walkway of finished lumber. This was one of the biggest attractions of the Riverside Inn. Three structures housed the waters over time. The first was on the north side of Millers station Rd. The second and third were on this spot until it was destroyed after years of neglect. MATCH BOX CONTAINER BYOP PLEASE KEEP OFF THE REMAINING STRUCTURE

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