I got some great news yesterday. One of my church members secured permission from the owner of a rather spectacular property in my county. It is the site of an old hotel.

A little history … Kentucky was once rather famous for its mineral springs. Wherever mineral springs were found, there were accompanying hotels / “resorts.” The one in our county was one of the more famous ones.

The first hotel was built on the site in 1817. Over the years the campus expanded to include a store, bowling alley, and dancing pavilion. The focus of the establishment was, however, the blue water sulphur spring. People bathed in the water and drank it for “medicinal putposes.” It was reputed to cure just about anything.

Anyhow … at the height of its glory the hotel has 72 guest rooms, dining halls, the works … And a train brought people from all over the country to a depot about 150 yards away. It was a BIG deal, until the place burned down in 1925, never to be rebuilt.

So, I got “run of the place,” and went on a little scouting trip this afternoon. It was pretty depressing at first. I was rapidly becoming convinced that the only thing that ever happened there was beer drinking. I found cans and tabs all over the place. Apparently, the area around the spring is quite a “party zone” for the young folk. About made me lose my religion …

But on the front of the property I started getting some action. I found an original doorknob from the old hotel (soaking right now), an old spoon, and various other little pieces and gadgets. Then I started hitting some coins.

I only dug four … but they were “doozies!!”
Here they be:

That’s TWO (count ’em …TWO) Injuns … 1890 and 1906, a 1913 Wheatie, and that last piece of sweetness is a GORGEOUS 1906 Barber Dime. When I saw that reeded edge in my plug, I did a mini version of the big, ugly happy dance. The 1890 Injun is only my 7th pre-1900 coin, BTW.

So, ladies and gents, I have stumbled upon one OLD site. It should take Katie (my daughter) and me about a year to cover it … just 13-15 acres or so.

Gracias for looking. Wish us luck … hitting it some more tomorrow!

I’ll post some pics of the spring and some of the relics after they’re cleaned.

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Garrett GTP 1350 & PP / Oldest Coin – 1801 Draped Bust Large Cent / Silver Coins – 49 / Coin Count – 1,998 / Clad Total – $143.12