New Historical Marker Tells Story of Two Edmonson County Resorts
About 75 Edmonson County residents joined the Kentucky Historical Society June 11 to dedicate a new historical marker that relates the stories of Chameleon and Chalybeate springs. The resort areas operated through the 19th century and into the 20th century.
A “long hunter” campsite became the location of the Chameleon Spring Hotel in 1804. The summer resort had five different mineral waters and offered many activities. It closed in the early 1930s. An 1825 meeting at Bryan’s Tavern at Chameleon Springs formally established Edmonson County.
Dr. William Ford discovered Chalybeate Springs in the early 1800s. Its waters were famous for their reported healing powers. The Chalybeate Springs Hotel provided dancing, dining, horse racing, golf, tennis and fox hunting. It was a popular resort for more than 100 years and closed during World War II.
Many of the people in attendance remembered the springs, told stories and reminisced.