Beacher Ferrel Hackney
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The Homestead
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Front view of The Homestead Resort
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| Location | US 220, Hot Springs, Virginia |
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| Coordinates | 37°59′43.70″N 79°49′46.72″W / 37.9954722°N 79.8296444°WCoordinates: 37°59′43.70″N 79°49′46.72″W / 37.9954722°N 79.8296444°W |
| Area | 2,300 acres (930 ha) |
| Built | 1892 |
| Architect | Multiple |
| Architectural style | Queen Anne, Greek Revival, Colonial Revival |
| NRHP reference # | 84003494 |
| VLR # | 008-0025 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | May 3, 1984 |
| Designated NHL | July 17, 1991 |
| Designated VLR | March 20, 1984 |
The Omni Homestead Resort is a luxury resort in Hot Springs, Virginia, in the middle of the Allegheny Mountains. The area has the largest hot springs in the state, and the resort is also known for its championship golf courses, which have hosted several national tournaments. The resort also includes an alpine ski resort; founded in 1959, it is the oldest in Virginia. The resort has been designated a National Historic Landmark; it has a history extending of more than two and a half centuries. The Omni Homestead Resort is a member of Historic Hotel of America the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation
In 1766, Thomas Bullitt built a lodge on the site, which is considered the founding of The Homestead. In 1832, Dr. Thomas Goode (physician) purchased the land from the Bullitt family and expanded the medical therapies, establishing a European style of spa treatment and hydrotherapy. It has hosted vacationers ever since, including twenty-three U.S. presidents.
The modern resort dates from 1888-1892, when a group of investors headed by J. P. Morgan bought the business and started rebuilding it from the ground up. The original hotel buildings burned down in 1901 caused by a fire in the bakery. The main Homestead hotel was constructed afterwards, one wing a year, with the main lobby reconstructed in 1902.
Many American Presidents and influential people were Homestead guests. William Howard Taft spent July and August, 1908 at the Homestead, working and relaxing before the final campaign push, as briefly did outgoing President Theodore Roosevelt. Other notable guests included cartoonist Carl E. Schultze of Foxy Grandpa fame.
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.
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Wikipedia