Donoho Hotel
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Donoho Hotel Historic District
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Donoho Hotel
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| Location | Market St., Red Boiling Springs, Tennessee |
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| Coordinates | 36°31′47″N 85°50′28″W / 36.52972°N 85.84111°WCoordinates: 36°31′47″N 85°50′28″W / 36.52972°N 85.84111°W |
| Area | appx. 4 acres (1.6 ha) |
| Built | 1916 |
| Architect | B. W. Chitwood |
| Architectural style | Bungalow, Colonial Revival |
| MPS | Early Twentieth Century Resort Buildings of Red Boiling Springs TR |
| NRHP Reference # | 86002857 |
| Added to NRHP | September 11, 1986 |
The Donoho Hotel is a historic hotel in Red Boiling Springs, Tennessee, United States. Built in 1916, the Donoho is one of three hotels remaining from the early-20th century resort boom at Red Boiling Springs, and the last of the great white frame hotels with full-length two-story verandas. Although it has changed ownership several times, the Donoho has remained in operation continuously since its opening. In 1986, the hotel and several outbuildings were added to the National Register of Historic Places as a historic district.
The mineral springs at Red Boiling Springs— which were thought to have curative powers— were attracting tourists as early as the 1840s. After the Civil War, the nationwide rise in the popularity of mountain spring resorts brought about the development of a large-scale tourist industry at Red Boiling Springs. As transportation to the remote mountain hamlet improved, more elaborate hotels were built, among them the Donoho, which was initially built in the early 1900s. After the first Donoho Hotel burned down, the current structure was built as a replacement in 1916. Although alterations were made to the Donoho in the 1950s to provide modern amenities, the hotel still appears much as it did when it was first constructed.
Red Boiling Springs is located amidst the Northern Highland Rim, a rugged upland between the Pennyrile region of Kentucky and the Central Basin of Tennessee. Salt Lick Creek, a tributary of the Barren River, slices a narrow valley which was once lined with a dozen hotels and at least as many boarding houses. The Donoho is situated at the base of a hill at the confluence of Salt Lick Creek and Whitley Branch. The NRHP-listed Cloyd Hotel (now the Thomas House) is located across Whitley Branch to the south. The Donoho faces East Main Street, which runs parallel to Salt Lick Creek.
The Red Boiling Springs area is underlain by a type of black shale (Chattanooga shale), which is exposed in some stream beds. As water flows over this shale, it collects and dissolves iron sulfate, giving the area's springs their once-sought after mineral potency. The most mineralized water is very salty, and has a strong hydrogen sulfide odor. Red-painted well pumps scattered throughout the town mark the location of the various mineral springs.
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