Hot Springs, Virginia
Hot Springs has several historic resorts, for the springs helped develop Bath County.
History
Since at least the mid 18th century, travelers came to use the springs. Thomas Bullitt built the first inn to accommodate them in 1766 and Dr. Thomas Goode later expanded it. The most prominent modern resort, The Homestead, traces its origin to this inn. Mustoe House, The Yard, Barton Lodge, Switchback School, and Garth Newel are also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
In 1943, during World War II, The Homestead hosted a United Nations conference which implemented the foundation of Food and Agriculture Organization.
From December 1941 until June 1942, following the United States' entry into World War II, the Homestead served as a high-end internment camp for 785 Japanese diplomats and their families until they could be exchanged through neutral channels for their American counterparts. The diplomats were later transferred to the Greenbrier Hotel in West Virginia.
Hot Springs was once the terminus of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad's Hot Springs Branch, which extended from Covington in Alleghany County to Hot Springs in large part passenger service to serve the resort in Hot Springs, though other customers were served, including lumber companies. There was a turntable in Hot Springs that reversed the train for the return trip back. The C&O once considered extending the line into West Virginia to serve the logging industry, but decided to build its Greenbrier Division in West Virginia instead. By 1975 the C&O abandoned the branch line, and a tourist railroad, the Allegany Central, was to start. However, the Homestead resort decided it no longer wanted the railroad or the tourist line to extend to Hot Springs, so the rails were torn up to the Bath County line. In 1984 the tourist railroad ended and a rail trail, Jackson River Scenic Trail was subsequently built on the line in Alleghany County but was not extended by Bath County to Hot Springs to follow the full length of C&O's Hot Springs Branch. One of the original steam engines that served the Hot Springs Branch is preserved in Covington, Virginia.
Climate
Hot springs has a humid continental climate of type (Dfb) bordering on type (Dfa). It also borders on a humid subtropical climate (Cfa).
| Climate data for Hot Springs, Virginia (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1893–present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 73 (23) |
77 (25) |
83 (28) |
89 (32) |
94 (34) |
97 (36) |
99 (37) |
100 (38) |
95 (35) |
90 (32) |
79 (26) |
75 (24) |
100 (38) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 39.8 (4.3) |
43.7 (6.5) |
52.4 (11.3) |
64.2 (17.9) |
72.2 (22.3) |
78.8 (26.0) |
82.1 (27.8) |
80.4 (26.9) |
74.1 (23.4) |
64.0 (17.8) |
52.8 (11.6) |
42.9 (6.1) |
62.3 (16.8) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 30.6 (−0.8) |
33.5 (0.8) |
41.0 (5.0) |
51.5 (10.8) |
60.0 (15.6) |
67.6 (19.8) |
71.1 (21.7) |
69.7 (20.9) |
63.3 (17.4) |
52.5 (11.4) |
42.1 (5.6) |
34.1 (1.2) |
51.4 (10.8) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 21.5 (−5.8) |
23.3 (−4.8) |
29.6 (−1.3) |
38.8 (3.8) |
47.9 (8.8) |
56.4 (13.6) |
60.2 (15.7) |
59.1 (15.1) |
52.6 (11.4) |
41.0 (5.0) |
31.3 (−0.4) |
25.4 (−3.7) |
40.6 (4.8) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −20 (−29) |
−14 (−26) |
−2 (−19) |
10 (−12) |
18 (−8) |
25 (−4) |
35 (2) |
32 (0) |
22 (−6) |
14 (−10) |
0 (−18) |
−20 (−29) |
−20 (−29) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 3.64 (92) |
3.13 (80) |
4.31 (109) |
4.30 (109) |
4.69 (119) |
4.31 (109) |
4.22 (107) |
3.59 (91) |
4.13 (105) |
3.14 (80) |
3.35 (85) |
3.69 (94) |
46.50 (1,181) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 8.0 (20) |
7.0 (18) |
4.6 (12) |
0.5 (1.3) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.1 (0.25) |
0.6 (1.5) |
4.5 (11) |
25.3 (64) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 10.5 | 9.5 | 11.3 | 12.6 | 14.3 | 12.3 | 12.5 | 11.0 | 9.4 | 8.8 | 8.9 | 10.5 | 131.6 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) | 2.6 | 2.7 | 1.5 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 1.9 | 9.4 |
| Source: NOAA | |||||||||||||
References
- ^ Hot Springs CDP, Virginia - Census Bureau Tables. United States Census Bureau. Accessed 2024-11-06.
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ "National Register of Historic Places Listings". Weekly List of Actions Taken on Properties: 6/17/13 through 6/21/13. National Park Service. June 28, 2013. Archived from the original on February 21, 2014. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
- ^ "National Register of Historic Places Listings". Weekly List of Actions Taken on Properties: 12/23/13 through 12/27/13. National Park Service. January 3, 2014. Archived from the original on February 19, 2014. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
- ^ United Nations Conference on Food and Agriculture: Hot Springs, Virginia, May 18-June 3, 1943 : final act and section reports..
- ^ "The founding of FAO"..
- ^ "The Homestead: A Great Hotel Entertains Jap Diplomats as a Patriotic Duty," Life Magazine, 1942-02-16, at p. 68.
- ^ "World War II Detention of Diplomats & Families". Montreat History Spotlight. Presbyterian Heritage Center at Montreat. 2010. Retrieved July 10, 2012.
- ^ Stewart, William H. (2012). "Diplomats, Disputes & Deceit World War II's First Exchange of Enemy Diplomats". Saipan Stewart. NCC Consulting. Retrieved July 10, 2012.
- ^ "Chesapeake and Ohio Railway | Historical Society of Western Virginia". hswv.pastperfectonline.com.
- ^ Allegany Central Railroad
- ^ "A Visit to West Virginia". trainweb.org. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
- ^ "NowData – NOAA Online Weather Data". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
- ^ "Station: Hot Springs, VA". U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Monthly Climate Normals (1991-2020). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
External links
- Vine Cottage Inn at Hot Springs
- "Taking the Waters: 19th Century Medicinal Springs: Hot Springs." Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, University of Virginia
Municipalities and communities of Bath County, Virginia, United States | ||
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| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
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| National | |
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