Allen Springs. Lake Co. Cal.

Description

This is a c. 1890 Chris Jorgensen view of Allen Springs in Lake County, California. The complex was one of several springs resorts that arose in the vicinity of Clear Lake in the late 19th century.

Allen Springs was one of several natural mineral springs, including Bartlett Springs, Hough Springs, and Wilbur Springs (formerly Simmons Springs), that are located several miles northeast of Clear Lake. Generally, these were discovered by Europeans and their descendants in the decades after the California Gold Rush, acquired by an aspiring resort owner, and named after him. In this case, the springs are named after George Allen and his brother, who located them in 1871 and purchased the surrounding land to build a resort. A hotel, some thirty cottages, a saloon, a stable, a general store, a barbershop, and a town hall (most of which are labelled here) were quickly built. Many of the resort’s visitors were invalids who resided there for relatively lengthy stays. In 1881, Allen sold the resort to James D. Bailey, at which time it could be reached by stagecoach line from Lakeport or Williams. As with nearby Bartlett Springs, the springs’ healthful mineral waters were bottled and sold throughout California as an additional means of raising revenue. A flood in the early 20th century damaged the resort, closing it for several years. It reopened but faced difficulties and was resold in 1912, becoming a private members-only club named the Allen Springs Club of Woodland. By 1940, this had also closed, marking the end of Allen Springs as a settled community.

The view includes three insets at top, of one of the local springs, the billiard saloon, and an iron spring. Resort visitors and residents are seen riding in carriages, hiking, and playing croquet. The text at bottom reads: “A fine summer resort for tourists and invalids. There are found iron springs, white sulphur spring and cold fresh water springs that are unsurpassed on the pacific coast. The route from Sacramento and San Francisco is by railroad to Williams, thence by stage (daily) 40 miles over a romantic mountain road.”

Publication information

This view was drawn by Chris Jorgensen, a master landscape painter of California scenes, around the year 1890. Only two institutional examples are known to exist, both colored (chromolithographed) and neither of which is in the OCLC, one held by the California State Library (dated c. 1900) and one by the University of British Columbia as part of the Tremaine Arkley Croquet Collection (dated c. 1880).