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Raleigh Springs |
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and the
Raleigh Inn
and the Maddox
Seminary, and the James Sanitorium |
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The Raleigh, Tennessee area was first settled around 1816 by a
trapper named Tapp. In 1824, Tennessee chose this area
for the county seat and the new town was named Raleigh by
Joseph Graham, in honor of his North Carolina home. The
town quickly grew, but in 1866 the courts moved to Memphis and
Raleigh became a sleepy community. In the late 1800s
Raleigh saw a revival with the popularity of the springs in
the area, which were noted for their purity and medicinal
properties. The first spa was advertised in 1842.
Trains began bringing Memphians for dances and fairs held on
the grounds. A boom was in the making... |
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Raleigh Inn
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Raleigh was 127 feet above Memphis. The formation
around the town consisted of layers of sand with clay, and
contained beds of Lignite and marl and sand colored with
iron oxides. In 1842, Dr. David Coleman accidentally
discovered the medicinal virtues of the excellent springs
located around the old "Tapp's Hole". The spring's
temperatures were from 68 to 74 degrees. Coleman
immediately built a hotel near the springs. Several
others soon followed. To help promote the area, a
narrow gauge railroad was established from Memphis to
Raleigh in 1873. |
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Raleigh Springs |
Raleigh Springs |
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Franklin House Ad 1870 |
Franklin House Ad 1872 |
Franklin House C. 1920 |
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The Raleigh Inn
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In 1892, the tobacco-rich Duke family of North Carolina
erected a grand hotel at the Springs and named it "Raleigh
Inn". The resort was a rambling wooden structure,
four stories high, with turrets, balconies, and verandas,
along with 100 rooms, and "all the usual" to please
visitors. They added gazebos around the springs and
linked them to the hotel via stone paths in the beautiful
woods. On weekends, full orchestras played for
dances in the grand ballroom. Raleigh and the
Raleigh Inn became the place to see and be seen. It
was GREAT... |
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J. B. Duke |
The
Raleigh Inn |
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"Within a short electric ride of Memphis, or an hour and a
half's charming drive over a splendid pike" . "Electric
lights, call bells, bath and toilet rooms, sewers, wire
screens on all outside openings, local and long distance
telephone, all add to the comfort of the guests" . " ...
amusements - fishing, frog shooting, tennis, bicycling,
billiards, etc." The hotel also hosted band
concerts, grand balls, and military drills by the
Chickasaw Guards. |
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Raleigh
Springs Streetcar |
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And
the Raleigh Springs will treat:
"Eczema, ulcers, sore throat, tonsilitis, Gout, rheumatism,
sronfula, summer complaint, acid diarrhoea, neuralgia of
stomach, nausea, gravel, cystitis, catarrh, teething, and
diseases of young children, cardiac weakness, dropsy, liver
complaint, chronic diseases, torpor of the digestive organs,
jaundice, malaria, anaemia and catarrhal conditions of the
abdominal biliary colic, malaria, anemia, sick headache, ..."
<
This
1903 booklet discusses the hotel and the treatments.
(Collection
Memphis Public Library) |
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The Raleigh Inn had a good 10 year run and then the Raleigh
Springs water tables began dropping and the Springs began drying
up. By then Memphis had its own clean water via the
discovery of the Artesian Wells. The Springs were no
longer the place to be seen. The grand Raleigh Inn closed
in 1903. |
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Trolley Turnaround |
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The Maddox
Seminary for Young Ladies
The
Maddox Seminary for Young Ladies immediately opened in the
Raleigh Inn building in 1903. This was a natural fit
because A. S. Maddox had been the manager of the hotel when it
closed. He was also behind the prestigious Maddox Seminary
located in Little Rock, Arkansas. He had been planning an
expansion of the school in Memphis. But by 1907 the Maddox
Seminary had moved on ... |
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Maddox |
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The James Sanatorium |
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Charles B. James of the James Sanatorium took over the Raleigh Inn
building around 1907. In 1912, a patient smoking in bed,
caused a fire and the old wooden hotel burned to the ground.
It was not rebuilt and afterwards the site was completely abandoned.
James was well known in the area and generally well-respected but
his noted Sanatorium moved around, perhaps a bit too much?.
That should have raised red flags. After the Raleigh Inn burned, he
moved to 692 Alabama. |
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In the 1906 Medical Critic and Guide, there is a lengthy article
which lists all the nom de plumes of Chas B. James, his
bankruptcies, his deceptions, and the many judgments against him
and the James Sanatorium. Yet he continued in business,
well into 1916. |
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1906 Medical
Critic and Guide |
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Today, there's no indication that anything was ever built in the
springs area and not even a bronze marker. |
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Credits |
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The
Historic-Memphis website does not intentionally post copyrighted
photos and material without permission or credit.
On
occasion a "non-credited" photo might possibly be posted because we
were unable to find a name to give credit. Because of the nature of
our non-commercial, non-profit, educational website, we strongly
believe that these photos would be considered "Fair Use. We have
certainly made no monetary gain, although those using this website
for historic or Genealogy research have certainly profited. If by
chance,
we have posted your copyrighted photo, please contact us, and we'll
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choice. In the past, we have found that many photographers
volunteer to have their works included on these pages and we'll
also do that if you contact us with a photo that fits a particular
page. |
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The "Historic-Memphis" website would like to acknowledge and thank the
following for their contributions which helped make this website
possible:
Memphis
Public Library, Memphis University Library, Memphis Law Library,
Memphis Commercial Appeal, Memphis Press Scimitar, Shelby County
Register of Deeds, Memphis City Schools, Memphis Business Men's
Club, Memphis Chamber of Commerce, Memphis City Park Commission,
Memphis Film Commision, Carnival Memphis, Memphis Historical
Railroad Page, Memphis Heritage Inc, Beale Street Historic District,
Cobblestone Historic District, Memphis Historic Districts, Vance
Lauderdale Family Archives, Tennessee State Archives, Library of
Congress, Kemmons Wilson Family, Richard S. Brashier, Lee Askew,
George Whitworth, Woody Savage and many individuals whose assistance is
acknowledged on the pages of their contributions. Special
thanks to Memphis Realtor, Joe Spake, for giving us carte blanche
access to his outstanding collection of contemporary Memphis photos.
We do not have high definition copies of the photos on these
pages. If anyone wishes to secure high definition photos,
you'll have to contact the photographer or the collector.
(To avoid any possibility of contributing to SPAM, we do not
maintain a file of email addresses for anyone who contacts us). |
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