Administrative History

Located approximately 10 miles west of New Castle (Craig County), Virginia, Craig Healing Springs joined a number of other area health resorts that gained renown in the late 19th and early 20th centuries for the professed healing properties of their mineral waters. The presence of "yellow spring waters" in the property was documented as early as 1796, but the remoteness of the springs hindered commercial development for nearly a century. Around 1885, a hotel was built on the property (though newspapers of the day indicate that the springs offered accommodations to visitors at least a year prior to the hotel's construction). Soon afterward, Martin Hoffman purchased the property from 11 fellow investors and christened the property "All Healing Springs." The springs benefited from the extension of rail travel to nearby New Castle; large-scale development and incoporation of the resort by the Craig Healing Springs Company occurred in 1909. The resort remained a popular destination through the early decades of the 20th century, but as with many other such resorts, the Craig's business declined in the years following World War II. In 1960, the property was purchased as a retreat and conference center by the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Virginia.

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