In operation as early as 1850 as health spa and resort because of three nearby sulphur springs (varying in taste from mild to strong). Numerous drinking places and bathhouses allowed guests to move freely about grounds. Grand four-story hotel with 100 rooms, built about 1860, was social center for area, where guests enjoyed billiards, poker, horse races, and Gen. Sam Houston once danced the Minuet. In 1865, hotel became hospital, headquarters for John G. Walker's "Greyhound Division", Confederate army. Owner closed the building after losing money in panic, 1870s. (1967)