Today in Wheeling History: August 13--Wheeling newspapers announce plans for a luxury hotel near the mineral springs of Woodsdale, laying the foundation for what would become Stratford Springs (1903).
Opened on May 1, 1907, the Stratford Springs Hotel was Wheeling’s answer to elite resorts like Saratoga Springs. Located in Woodsdale at the present-day intersection of Stratford Drive and Alicia Drive, just off Edgewood Street, the hotel featured 84 rooms, a ballroom, bowling alley, tennis courts, and verandas. Its “saline-chalybeate” spring was believed to aid digestion, liver, and kidney health.
The spring water was bottled and sold even before the hotel opened, under names like Stratford Magnesia Springs Co. and later Stratford Springs Bottling Company. After a fire destroyed the hotel on January 13, 1918, the bottling plant expanded into the hotel’s garage and thrived through Prohibition and WWII. The company closed in 1969, ending a health tradition in Wheeling.
Today, the Stratford Arms Apartment Complex, located on the site of the former bottling plant near Stratford Drive and Brookside Drive, stands close to the original spring house. Meanwhile, the Stratford Springs Restaurant & Event Center, located at 100 Kensington Drive, occupies the historic grounds of the former Wheeling Country Club. With its restored 1908 clubhouse, multiple dining rooms, and event spaces, it continues the Stratford Springs legacy in a new form.
To learn more: Hotel Project at Woodsdale - Wheeling Daily Register (https://tinyurl.com/4bdsathe), Ohio County Public Library – Stratford Springs Hotel (https://tinyurl.com/yzwrdwwa), Stratford Springs Reborn – Ohio County Public Library (https://tinyurl.com/5b3xvd3v), Recollections of Stratford Springs – Ohio County Public Library (https://tinyurl.com/5n8kj5ha),Like a Comet in the Sky – Archiving Wheeling (https://tinyurl.com/ph9krrx5), Stratford Springs – Historic Wheeling (https://tinyurl.com/5xhe35m5), Bottled Treasure: Discovery Leads to Investigation - Weelunk (https://tinyurl.com/y6py7t7c)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library, Wheeling, WV; Weelunk, Google Maps, Sanborn Maps
Opened on May 1, 1907, the Stratford Springs Hotel was Wheeling’s answer to elite resorts like Saratoga Springs. Located in Woodsdale at the present-day intersection of Stratford Drive and Alicia Drive, just off Edgewood Street, the hotel featured 84 rooms, a ballroom, bowling alley, tennis courts, and verandas. Its “saline-chalybeate” spring was believed to aid digestion, liver, and kidney health.
The spring water was bottled and sold even before the hotel opened, under names like Stratford Magnesia Springs Co. and later Stratford Springs Bottling Company. After a fire destroyed the hotel on January 13, 1918, the bottling plant expanded into the hotel’s garage and thrived through Prohibition and WWII. The company closed in 1969, ending a health tradition in Wheeling.
Today, the Stratford Arms Apartment Complex, located on the site of the former bottling plant near Stratford Drive and Brookside Drive, stands close to the original spring house. Meanwhile, the Stratford Springs Restaurant & Event Center, located at 100 Kensington Drive, occupies the historic grounds of the former Wheeling Country Club. With its restored 1908 clubhouse, multiple dining rooms, and event spaces, it continues the Stratford Springs legacy in a new form.
To learn more: Hotel Project at Woodsdale - Wheeling Daily Register (https://tinyurl.com/4bdsathe), Ohio County Public Library – Stratford Springs Hotel (https://tinyurl.com/yzwrdwwa), Stratford Springs Reborn – Ohio County Public Library (https://tinyurl.com/5b3xvd3v), Recollections of Stratford Springs – Ohio County Public Library (https://tinyurl.com/5n8kj5ha),Like a Comet in the Sky – Archiving Wheeling (https://tinyurl.com/ph9krrx5), Stratford Springs – Historic Wheeling (https://tinyurl.com/5xhe35m5), Bottled Treasure: Discovery Leads to Investigation - Weelunk (https://tinyurl.com/y6py7t7c)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library, Wheeling, WV; Weelunk, Google Maps, Sanborn Maps
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