Warm Springs Bathhouses
Also known as: DHR No. 008-0007
No coordinates published for this listing.
Why it's listed
Two bath houses at Warm Springs in Bath County, Virginia, enclose pools fed by a natural spring. The men's bath house is a simple one-story frame octagon with little decoration. Its two gabled entrances appear original, while the projecting dressing rooms were added later. The women's bath house is a larger, twenty-sided building with vertical siding and an enclosed gallery under a shed roof holding individual dressing booths. Each pool is thirty-five feet across, fed through loose cobbles at the bottom, and the water stays close to 96 degrees. Each roof is a truncated octagonal pyramid with a ventilation opening. The springs first drew visitors seeking cures, then grew into a fashionable resort. They served as the starting point for the annual tours of the Virginia springs, a summer custom of wealthy Southerners. The men's bath house is thought to date to the late eighteenth century. Both buildings are still used for bathing and have changed very little.
Significance in brief: The Warm Springs were the traditional starting point for the annual tours of the Virginia springs, a social custom among Southern aristocrats escaping summer heat. The bath houses are described as excellent examples of simplicity in public accommodations in early Virginia. They remain in their original use and have been little altered.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF). NRHP reference 100004302, listed August 20, 2019. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | NE of Warm Springs off Rt. 220, Warm Springs |
|---|---|
| County | Bath County |
| Listed | August 20, 2019 |
| Reference number | 100004302 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 18th and 19th centuries; specific dates 1761 and 1836 |
| Areas of significance | Commerce, Entertainment/Recreation |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Described as in an excellent state of repair, little altered, still used as bath houses and maintained by the Homestead Hotel; the form's condition box marks fair/good. |
| Acreage | 10.83 |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 100004302.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives)
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.