White Sulphur Resort as seen in the 1840s was located in the area that is now Rathbone.
History always seems to repeat itself, but I’ll be very-very happy if the idea that sulphur has medicinal qualities never returns.
However, for the second time in a week, DelawareOH365.com heads out to talk about the past and a lost sulphur spring.
White Sulphur Resort was built — not in present day White Sulphur — but rather in the crossroads community of Rathbone near the intersection of Home and Dublin Roads in southern Delaware County. The area has been referred to as Ira Fountain, Hart’s Springs, or Scioto Village in history books over the years.
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According to forgottenohio.com, the resort was erected in 1842 by Nathanial Hall. The location contained a bath-house, which housed the spring, and several cottages for those that were visiting to find enjoy the theraputic benefits of rotten eggs. But sulphur wasn’t the only “healing power” as there were also springs that included magnesia, chalybeate, and saline chalybeate.
The White Sulphur Resort only lasted about 30 years and in 1877 the Girl’s Industrial Home was opened as a way-ward home for girls. Ironically, the “home” became the namesake for today’s Home Road. For nearly 130 years the location has continued to serve as a reformatory for young ladies — today featuring the Scioto Juvenile Correctional Center.
