This geocache is part of the US 23 Discovery Trail, a 200 mile geo-trail from Standish, Michigan in the south to Mackinaw City, Michigan in the north. Caches have been placed at significant places along this countywide corridor. You will need to answer specific questions on your passport while discovering the special locations on the sunrise side of the state of Michigan. Information and the passport can be downloaded from the US 23 Heritage Route web site under 'US-23 Discovery Trail Geocaching!' in the 'Events' tab:
http://www.us23heritageroute.org
Once you have completed 25 of the 30 + caches in this geo-trail, you can take your passport to one of the following sites during business hours: McGulpin Lighthouse, 500 Headlands Drive, Mackinaw City, Michigan or the Standish Historical Depot and Welcome Center, 107 N Main St, Standish, Michigan to pick up your souvenir tag.
Or you can mail your passport to: Denise Cline, NEMCOG,
80 Livingston Blvd Suite U-108, PO Box 457,
Gaylord, MI 49734
Note: only one tag per geocaching team name will be available. Only 150 souvenir tags were minted.
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The Alpena Magnetic Sulphur Springs Bath House was a popular attraction for people from all over the country back in the 1800’s.
From an 1899 textbook called The Mineral Waters of the United States by James King Crook, A.M., M.D., of the New York Post Graduate Medical School, Attending Physician to the Post Graduate Hospital.
“This celebrated spring or well is situated in the city of Lake Huron, on the shores of Lake Huron. The location is reached by numerous lines of railway and by vessels on the Great Lakes. The vein of water supplying the well was discovered in 1869. The Magnetic Sulphur Springs Bath Company was organized in 1891 for fully developing the resources of the vein… It is said that any piece of steel will at once become magnetized if held in the flowing water of the well…. A sumptuous bath house was erected, which, in point of elegance, comfort, and equipment, is not easily surpassed… It is abundantly supplied with facilities for Turkish, Russian, vapor and electric baths….
“The waters have been used, and with gratifying results, in cases of rheumatism, syphilis, dyspepsia, Bright’s disease, and certain skin affections, especially eczema, psoriasis, and lichen. The internal use of the waters has been found advantageous in cases of constipation, diabetes, and vesical catarrh… The water is highly recommended in cases of acid dyspepsia, the headache following alcoholic excesses etc. It has also been used successfully in cases of lumbago, gout, and various urinary and renal disorders. The water is bottled and sold.”
The Bath House, considered one of the most perfect and complete in the nation, burned to the ground in 1936.
If you are here during Library open hours go inside and stand in the lobby and look out toward the fountain. The window shows a great photo of The Alpena Magnetic Sulphur Springs Bath House.