The History of Grayson Springs Inn
Grayson Springs Inn and the protected natural areas surrounding it are a storied place with a history – and a future. Originally established in 1825, the 100-acre woodland setting is located in Western Kentucky just three miles south of the small town of Clarkson – the honey capital of the Commonwealth.
Grayson Springs in the 1800s
Grayson Springs is the site of Grayson Springs resort, the once famous sulfur springs spa dating back to 1825.
The mineral springs resorts in Kentucky were tremendously popular institutions during the 19th and early 20th centuries.
The resorts filled a medicinal need, as well as a social need for relaxation and pleasure. In 1836 a two-story hotel of logs was built by James Fielding Clarkson, advised by a “hydropathic physician” named Dr. William Barrett. The historic trail system still curves along the hills to form a natural amphitheater bordered by streams and forests.
The resort grew in the 1860’s, to include additional hotels, bowling facilities, and shooting galleries.
The atmosphere at Grayson Springs was one of overall relaxation, pursuit of health, and often romance. As advertised, “the waters of these springs are too highly appreciated by those who have visited them to need one word from us in regard to their efficacy.”
When the Civil War broke out, wounded and sick Union soldiers were placed in the resort bowling alley building (now Grayson Springs Inn). There are also the remains of a Civil War fortification in the woods at the top of a hill overlooking the springs.
By the late 1890s the resort added a new dining room for 200 patrons, a swimming pool with mineral waters, golf course, electric lights, telegraph and long distance telephone service, and steamboat.
Grayson Springs in the 1900s
In 1909, a fire destroyed the four hotels. The Springs were purchased and a two-story hotel was built.
This hotel changed hands several times until a fire on June 7, 1930. The two-story frame building that once housed the bowling alley was the only building to survive, and was used as a general store. The Grayson Springs post office also relocated here after the fire and remained until 1933.
The building and grounds were used as a residence until 1955, when Mark E. Nevils opened a restaurant with limited guest accommodations.
The Inn closed in the mid-1970s, but continued to be utilized as an essential part of the community into the 1990s. Since the 1990’s, the Grayson Springs Inn and healing waters have been dormant, patiently waiting … until now!