{"nrhp_refnum":"78001194","name":"Original Springs Hotel and Bathhouse","other_names":["The Original"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"301 E. Walnut St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Okawville","county":"Washington County","state":"IL","lat":38.43406071350006,"lon":-89.54820214854838,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-12-22","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A hotel and bath house complex at 301 East Walnut Street in Okawville, Washington County, Illinois, covering most of a city block. The two-story frame hotel and two-story brick bath house were both built in 1892 after a fire.","why_significant":"The complex is described as the last functioning nineteenth-century mineral-water spa in Illinois. It reflects the late-1800s resort trade built around the supposed medicinal value of mineral springs, and drew visitors such as St. Louis businessmen. The hotel is also called a good example of vernacular frame construction, with a veranda well suited to hotel use.","narrative":"Okawville's Original Mineral Springs Hotel and Bath House is a complex of buildings covering most of a city block. The two-story frame hotel, about 38 by 162 feet, and the two-story brick bath house, about 60 by 110 feet, were both built in 1892 and joined by an elevated wooden passageway. The hotel has a long wooden veranda, 30 guest rooms and a brick basement holding the kitchen, bar and dining room. The spring feeds a bricked cistern between the two buildings. The site began in 1867, when a saddler noticed his well water rusted tin kettles and analysis found minerals such as magnesium and sulphur. A small bath house was replaced after a fire in 1892. By 1900 the village drew St. Louis businessmen, and the hotel offered tennis, boating and masseurs as late as 1930. It is described as the last functioning nineteenth-century mineral-water spa in Illinois, and a good example of vernacular frame construction.","period_of_significance":"1892 - c. 1930","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Vernacular frame construction","criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as little altered and still functioning as a hotel and spa; the form marks it occupied and in good condition.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.684255-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/63/8942/28894263/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/78001194.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78001194/b497d4724e-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78001194/b497d4724e-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Ian Poellet","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Original_Springs_Hotel_and_Bathhouse_-_Okawville_Illinois.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Ian Poellet</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Original_Springs_Hotel_and_Bathhouse_-_Okawville_Illinois.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28894263","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Original_Springs_Hotel_and_Bathhouse","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q15264308"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/washington-county/original-springs-hotel-and-bathhouse-78001194/"}