French Lick Springs Resort and Spa
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You’re looking for a “Mini Micro”. The above coordinates will take you to the French Lick Historical Resort. This Resort is open to the public and parking is free. The “Mini Micro” is located on the same floor where Plato hangs out. Enjoy the History of the Grand Hotel!
The area called French Lick, Indiana, site of the French Lick Springs Resort & Spa and one of the earliest outposts in the middle-Western wilderness was first settled more than 200 years ago by French traders. After the discovery of rich mineral springs, which attracted animals that flocked to lick the waters and wet rocks, this valley became known among settlers as "The Lick".
The French had ideas about exploiting these lush salt deposits, but because of one obstacle and another, they never did make much progress. Finally, following the Louisiana Purchase Treaty in 1803, in which Napoleon relinquished claims on that part of the frontier, the French abandoned their trading posts at The Lick.
British settlers moved in about 1812. Despite continued Indian resistance, they succeeded in establishing a permanent fort. Indian incidents continued, however. One of the first recorded was the slaying of an Irishman, William Charles, who was attacked by Indians outside the fort. His remains are rumored to be buried somewhere beneath the front lawn of the resort.
In 1832, all the lands surrounding the actual mineral springs, which had been reserved for production of salt, was offered for public sale. About 1,500 acres - including all the large springs - were purchased by a Dr. William A. Bowles. Within several years he opened the first French Lick Springs Hotel, a ramshackle, three-story frame building. It was an immediate success. People flocked from hundreds of miles to partake of the "miracle waters". They carried the mineral water away in all sorts of jugs and canvas containers. "Doc" Bowles had struck it rich. In the 1850's, as North-South tension mounted, Bowles took time out from subversive activities to help charter the town of French Lick. Just before the Civil War, Bowles was arrested; court marshaled, convicted of treason and sentenced to death. President Lincoln, however, quietly commuted the sentence to life imprisonment. Bowles spent the war in a Federal prison in Ohio. He returned to French Lick in 1865 and managed the hotel until his death in 1873.
French Lick Springs thrived under various managements until 1897 when a disastrous fire destroyed most of the old frame buildings. Shortly thereafter the ruins were purchased by a syndicate which called itself the French Lick Springs Hotel Co. - headed by the then mayor of Indianapolis, Irish immigrant Thomas Taggart.
Today, French Lick Springs Resort rests on some 2,600 acres in the breathtaking Hoosier National Forest. Newly acquired by Boykin Lodging Company, the resort eagerly embraces a "New Beginning". The current facility includes 470 rooms and two golf courses,badminton, volleyball, horseshoes, shuffleboard, croquet, stables, and swimming pools. Additionally,tennis courts, mineral baths and massages await the pleasure of guests.
Here is a list of Famous Guests of the French Lick Hotel and Resort. I hope you find this list as interesting as I did.
1. Abbott and Costello
2. Lana Turner
3. Gretta Garbo
4. Franklin D. Roosevelt
5. Ronald and Nancy Regan
6. Harry Truman
7. Dan Qualye
8. George Jesse
9. Willie Nelson
10. Lee Greenwood
11. Patty Loveless
12. Tony Bennett
13. Paul Harvey
14. Gary Moore0
15. Spiro Agnew
16. Boxcar Willy
17. Bing Cosby
18. Bob Hope
19. Steve Allen
20. John Barrymore
21. Phyllis Diller
22. Eddie Fisher
23. Mamas and Papas
24. Carol Lawrence
25. Eartha Kitt
26. Fuzzy Zoella
27. Richard Nixon
28. Walter Hagen
29. Nelson Rockefeller
30. Chubby Checker
31. Frank Sinatra Jr
32. Ann Murray
33. Larry Bird ( French Lick is Larry Hometown)
34. Helen Cornelius
35. Tammy Faye Baker
36. Gerald Ford
37. Bobby Knight
38. Buddy Grecco
39. Loretta Lynn
40. Jimmy Dean
41. Nick Nolte
42. Jane Kennedy
43. Oscar Robertson
44. Lisa Bonet
45. Colonel Sande rs
46. Shelia McRae
47. Tony Dow ( Wally Cleaver)
48. Connie Smith
49. Hubert Humphrey
50. Al McGuire
51. Billy Packer
52. Leslie Uggams
53. Gloria Swanson
54. Joe and Rose Kennedy
55. Patrick Kennedy
56. Chuck Mangione
57. Michelle Pfeiffer
58. REO Speedwagon
59. Mandrel Sisters
60. Mark Chestnut
61. Doug Stone
62. Shenandoah
63. Restless Hearts
64. Diamond Rio
65. Crystal Gayle
66. John Anderson
67. Pam Tillis
68. Diane Schur
69. Ramsey Lewis
70. Mark Willis
71. Woody Herman
72. Orchestra Benny Powell
73. Earl May
74. Jan Jarvis
75. Eddie Miles
76. Lee Roy
77. Glenn Miller Orchestra
78. Duke Ellington Orchestra
79. 1931 U.S. Democratic Governors Conference
80. 1971 U.S. Democratic Governors Conference
81. Joe Diffey
82. Rick Pittino
83. Eric Heatherly
84. Andre Previn
85. Robert Merrel
86. Arthur Fiedle
87. Duke Ellington
88. Erroll Garner Trio
89. Gene Krupa
90. Stan Keton & Band
91. Four Freshmen
92. Dave Brubeck
93. Ray Price
94. Dave Brubeck
95. Dizzy Gillespie
96. Hank Snow
97. Ernest Tubb
98. Tom Jone
99. Jerry Reed
100. Tracy Bird
101. Sammy Kaye Orchestra
102. Nick Surovy
103. Sarah Langgenfeld
104. John Cullum
105. John Aprea
106. Howard Huges
107. Donald Sutherland
108. The Platters
109. The Drifters
110. Guy Lombardo Orchestra
111. Suzanne Summers
112. Magic Johnson
113. Brad Lowhouse
114. Tommy Dorsey Orchestra
115. Elton Band
116. The Ink Spots
117. Moonglows
118. Johnny Tilleston
119. Gail Sayers
120. Elgin Bailey
121. John Carridine
122. Victor Borgey
123. Louis Armstrong
124. Helen Reddy
125. Mackenzie Phillips
126. Sissie Lynn ( Loretta Lynn’s daughter)
127. Ozzie Osbourne
128. Ugly Kid Joe
129. Joey Laurence
130. Matthew Laurence
131. The Rockefellers
132. The Vanderbelts
133. Harry Connick Jr
134. Pee Wee Russell
135. Gerry Mulligan Quaretet
136. Eddie Condars
137. Jerry Tartanian
138. Roy Orbison
139. Barbara Carroll’s Trio
140. David Brinkly
141. Robert Young
142. Chicago Cubs 1945
143. Al McGuire
144. Hoagy Carmichael
145. The Wilburn Bros
146. Bobby Hackett
Additional Hints
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