Berkeley Springs State Park

Berkeley Springs State Park
West Virginia State Park
Park buildings
Country	United States
State	West Virginia
County	Morgan

Elevation	617 ft (188.1 m)
Coordinates	39°37′36″N 78°13′40″W / 39.62667°N 78.22778°W / 39.62667; -78.22778Coordinates: 39°37′36″N 78°13′40″W / 39.62667°N 78.22778°W / 39.62667; -78.22778

Area	7 acres (2.8 ha) ^[1]

Acquired	1970-07-01 ^[2]
Owner	West Virginia Division of Natural Resources

Nearest city	Berkeley Springs, West Virginia

Location of Berkeley Springs State Park in West Virginia
Website: Berkeley Springs State Park
Berkeley Springs State Park
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Location	S. Washington and Fairfax Sts., Berkeley Springs, West Virginia
Area	5 acres (2.0 ha)
Built	1785
NRHP Reference #	76001943^[3]
Added to NRHP	May 24, 1976

Berkeley Springs State Park is situated in the center of Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, USA. The centerpiece of the Park is its historic mineral spa. These waters were celebrated for their medicinal or restorative powers and were generally taken internally for digestive disorders, or bathed in for stress relief. Native peoples visited these springs as did George Washington. Berkeley Springs is the only state-run spa in the United States and is operated by the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources.

History

The Park is located on land which has been used as a health resort since the 1750s and which was officially granted to Virginia by Lord Fairfax in 1776. The historic Roman Bathhouse, the oldest public building in Berkeley Springs, was built in Federal-style architecture in 1815 on the site of an earlier bathhouse attributed to James Rumsey. The earlier bathhouse, built in 1784, is described as having had five bathing chambers and dressing rooms.

Mineral springs

Water flows from natural mineral springs at a constant temperature of 74.3 degrees, emerging from the Oriskany (Ridgeley) sandstone of Warm Springs Ridge. It contains significant amounts of sulfates, nitrates, and carbonates -- mostly magnesium carbonates. The flow rate varies from 750 to 2,000 US gallons (2,800 to 7,600 L) per minute.

The water is available for bathing at two park bathhouses and for drinking from a fountain at the 19th century Gentlemen's Spring House — as well as from every tap in town since the springs serve as the source of the municipal water supply. The current bathhouse includes nine separate bathing chambers with tubs capable of holding a total 750 gallons of water heated to 102 degrees. These baths are open to the public daily throughout the year and water is also bottled and sold commercially.

Museum

The Museum of the Berkeley Springs is located on the second floor of the bathhouse. Established in 1984, it exhibits various historical items of natural and cultural significance to the springs and town. Admission is free, and the museum is open at least on weekends from March through December.

Gallery

"Bathtub" used by George Washington

References

↑ West Virginia State Parks Facilities Grid, accessed March 29, 2008
↑ Where People and Nature Meet: A History of the West Virginia State Parks. Charleston, West Virginia: Pictorial Histories Publishing Company. April 1988. ISBN 0-933126-91-3.
↑ Staff (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Berkeley Springs State Park.

U.S. National Register of Historic Places in West Virginia

Topics	Contributing property Keeper of the Register Historic district History of the National Register of Historic Places National Park Service Property types

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Other lists	Bridges National Historic Landmarks

Category:National Register of Historic Places in West Virginia Portal:National Register of Historic Places

Protected areas of West Virginia

Federal

National Historical Parks	Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Harpers Ferry

National Forests	George Washington and Jefferson Monongahela

National Recreation Areas	Gauley River (NPS) Spruce Knob-Seneca Rocks (USFS)

National Wildlife Refuges	Canaan Valley Ohio River Islands

National Trails System	Appalachian National Scenic Trail

Wilderness Areas	Big Draft Wilderness Cranberry Wilderness Dolly Sods Wilderness Laurel Fork North Wilderness Laurel Fork South Wilderness Mountain Lake Wilderness Otter Creek Wilderness Roaring Plains Wilderness Spice Run Wilderness

National Rivers	Bluestone NSR New River Gorge

State

State parks	Audra Babcock Beartown Beech Fork Berkeley Springs Blackwater Falls Blennerhassett Island Bluestone Cacapon Resort Camp Creek Canaan Valley Resort Carnifex Ferry Battlefield Cass Scenic Railroad Cathedral Cedar Creek Chief Logan Droop Mountain Battlefield Fairfax Stone Greenbrier River Trail Hawks Nest Holly River Little Beaver Lost River Moncove Lake North Bend Rail Trail North Bend Pinnacle Rock Pipestem Resort Prickett's Fort Stonewall Jackson Lake Tomlinson Run Tu-Endie-Wei Twin Falls Resort Tygart Lake Valley Falls Watoga Watters Smith Memorial

State forests	Cabwaylingo Calvin Price Camp Creek Coopers Rock Greenbrier Kanawha Kumbrabow Seneca

Wildlife management areas	Allegheny Amherst-Plymouth Anawalt Lake Bear Rock Lakes Becky Creek Beech Fork Lake Berwind Lake Beury Mountain Big Ditch Big Ugly Bluestone Burches Run Burnsville Lake Castleman Run Lake Cecil H. Underwood Center Branch Cheat Canyon Chief Cornstalk Conaway Run Lake Cross Creek Dents Run Dunkard Fork East Lynn Lake Edwards Run Elk Creek Elk River Fairfox Pond-Rehe Fort Mill Ridge Fox Forest Frozen Camp Green Bottom Handley Hilbert Hillcrest Horse Creek Hughes River Huttonsville State Farm Lantz Farm and Nature Preserve Laurel Lake Lewis Wetzel Little Indian Creek McClintic Meadow River Mill Creek Moncove Lake Morris Creek Nathaniel Mountain Panther Pedlar Pleasant Creek Plum Orchard Lake Pruntytown State Farm R.D. Bailey Lake Ritchie Mines Sand Hill Shannondale Springs Short Mountain Slatyfork Sleepy Creek Smoke Camp Snake Hill South Branch Stonecoal Lake Stonewall Jackson Lake Stumptown Summersville Lake Tate Lohr Teter Creek Lake The Jug Thorn Creek Tug Fork Turkey Run Upper Deckers Creek Upper Mud River Valley Bend Wetlands Wallback Widmeyer Woodrum Lake

Other WVDNR sites	West Virginia State Wildlife Center

Non-
governmental

Nature Conservancy preserves	Brush Creek Bear Rocks Cranesville Swamp Greenland Gap Hungry Beech Ice Mountain Mount Porte Crayon Murphy Panther Knob Pike Knob Slaty Mountain Upper Shavers Fork Yankauer

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