Spring Valley House--Sulfur Springs Hotel

Photos 

Half-Way House

name derived from fact that it is half way between Chicago and St Louis, built 1852, location is also the site of Kaskaski-an Illinois Indian village of 1673 to 1700 explorer La Salle estimated population in 1680 @ 20,000

GS

Map 

Excerpts from Hikiing the Illinois & Michigan Canal 

Half-Way House is a large stone farmhouse located about 0.7 mile west of the Starved Rock Marina and 0.5 mile south of the I & M Canal. The four story, 28 room building was constructed in 1852 by Joel Smith, of Ottawa, as a tavern (inn) on the stagecoach road half way between Chicago and St.Louis. The building has sandstone walls 30" thick, and beams affixed with wooden pegs. The ground floor (basement) was the inn's bar and dining room; first floor-parlors and reception room; second floor-sleeping rooms; third (top) floor a dance hall. Heating was by fireplaces-one in each of the guest rooms. It had a primitive plumbing system that took water from the springs behind the hotel and circulated it to the inn's lower level, the livestock tanks, and then to the Illinois River. Because of these springs in back of the house, Half-Way House was also known as the "Sulphur Springs Hotel." There were 3 wellheads in the yard, all coming from the St.Peter Sandstone, with a cumulative flow of several gallons per minute. The water, which still bubbles thru the sand, is strongly impregnated with sulfur and contains some magnesia and iron. Guests at the hotel included Abraham Lincoln, the singers Carlotte and Adeline Patti, Jenni Lind, the noted Norwegian violinist Ole Bull, and, in the summer of 1860, possibly Edward, Prince of Wales (later to become Kind Edward VII)who was in America on a hunting trip. It became a farm in 1862 and over the years belonged to J.Buel; Henry Zimmerman; Maurice Keating; Lucille Keating; and now the State of Illinois. The land is also the site of Kaskaskia-an Illinois Indian village from 1673 to 1700 which is now a National Historic Landmark known as the "Zimmerman Site"

National Register information 

Status

Posted to the National Register of Historic Places on November 20, 1987

Reference number

87002055

Areas of significance

Commerce; Transportation; Architecture

Level of significance

Local

Evaluation criteria

A - Event; C - Design/Construction

Property type

District

Historic functions

Hotel; Single dwelling

Current function

Single dwelling

Periods of significance

1850-1874; 1825-1849

Significant years

1849; 1862

Number of properties

Contributing buildings: 1
Non-contributing buildings: 4

Tags 

Update Log 

• December 6, 2020: New photo from GS
• December 6, 2020: New photo from GS
• December 6, 2020: New photo from GS
• December 6, 2020: New photo from GS
• December 6, 2020: New photo from GS
• October 28, 2020: New photo from GS
• August 26, 2015: Essay added by GS
• August 14, 2015: New photo from GS
• July 10, 2015: New photo from GS

Sources 

• GS
• National Register database - Reference number 87002055 (Search for documents)

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