Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 10/16/1973
NRHP Listing Date 01/21/1974
NRHP Reference Number 74002103
The Sweet Chalybeate Springs spa complex in Alleghany County is a relic of the 19th-century days when the fashionable world of the North and South came to the mineral springs of western Virginia to “take the waters and play the marriage market.” Known since the 18th century, Sweet Chalybeate was developed in 1836 into a commercial resort which lasted until 1918. Although some of the buildings are neglected and deteriorating, the relatively complete collection of mid- and late-19th-century pavilions and cottages attests to the popularity of the resort and provides a poignant picture of a Virginia spa. The springs themselves, claimed to contain the strongest carbonated mineral waters in the nation, still flow freely from the limestone bluff. Chalybeate is a type of mineral water impregnated with salts of iron.
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Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Updated: July 22, 2021
