Windows in Time Lecture Series Presents “Hot Springs: Sacred Ground, Healing Properties?”

Southern Oregon has many mineral springs and hot springs throughout the region, that legends say were a favorite spot for the Native Americans and documented records show were very popular with the European settlers of this region. Hear librarian Amy Blossom share the accounts and stories of many of the hot and mineral baths at this month’s Windows in Time lecture, August 9, at the Ashland Branch Library, 410 Siskiyou Boulevard, from 12 noon – 1:00 p.m.

The geology of the area created the hot springs and mineral springs which have been used by many as restorative cures. Near the end of the 19^th century and beginning of the 20^th, settlers dreamed of luring people from all over the country to these unusual mineral springs. Hotels and dance halls were built near the springs, and the stage coach routes brought travelers to the region. Soaking for medicinal reasons, drinking the carbonated waters, enjoying the social aspects of the “fancy” hotels, people came from all over to take part in the public and private baths of Southern Oregon. The citizens of Ashland got in the act by bringing the lithia water to the center of town, developing large public pools, and tapping into the health craze around the waters. Hear more of the stories, the geology, and the history surrounding the bubbling, warm and mineral waters and the development that took place, then faded.

Amy Blossom recently retired after 40 years as a professional librarian, with 30 years at Jackson County Library Services as a reference librarian and Manager of the Ashland Branch Library. She has been on the Windows in Time coordinating board since it began in 2009.

The monthly “Windows in Time” lunchtime lectures are offered free to the public on the first and second Wednesday throughout the year from 12 noon – 1:00 p.m. The talks are jointly sponsored by the Southern Oregon Historical Society and Jackson County Library Services. For more information, please call Jackson County Library Services at 541-774-6996 or visit jcls.org.