Martinsville's history of health spas

The city of Martinsville has a glowing sign prominently displayed on the top of a building in the northwest corner of the courthouse square. It reads: Martinsville — City of Mineral Water.

Indeed, the identity of the city is often anchored by its rich history — a history intertwined with the underground glacial waters that turned Martinsville into a popular destination for tourists in the early 20th century. Visitors came from far and wide to get away from life in the big cities and to recreate in the therapeutic mineral waters that were discovered in Martinsville.

In a search for natural gas, local prospector Sylvanus Bernard drilled exploratory wells in the area in 1887 only to discover that instead of natural gas, he found a deep underground reservoir of glacial water, which was a remnant of the ice age and found to be rich with minerals.

By the turn of the century, Martinsville had become one of the country’s most prominent health resort destinations.

The health spas dotted the landscape in the city for more than four decades, building momentum going back to 1890 and beginning wane by 1930. At its height, 11 sanitariums were operating within a 1-mile radius inside the city limits, attracting up to 30,000 people a year.

By the 1930s, changes in modern medicine — as well as transportation and leisure habits — led to the decline of the industry. By World War II, the final blow was dealt, and the sanitariums started their steep decline.

Two sanitariums remain in Martinsville and serve as examples of this once burgeoning industry.

The Martinsville Sanitarium, located at 239 W. Harrison St., now serves as affordable housing for those 55 and older, but it served as a health sanitarium for decades. Construction of the current facility — which exhibits Tudor Revival, Colonial Revival, Renaissance Revival and Craftsman styles of architecture — was completed in 1926, but structures previously on the site go back to 1892. Despite the decline in the industry, the Martinsville Sanitarium stayed open for business until 1957, when it closed its doors for good.

The New Highland Sanitarium, located a few blocks away at 490 N. Main St., also serves as affordable housing, but its history goes back to the late 1800s. Built in 1896, the building that still stands — a 5-story structure in Spanish Revival style architecture — represents about one-quarter of the original structure, which remained in use until 1951. Multiple fires contributed to its ultimate closure.

(Prepared by the Morgan County Leadership Academy Class of 2022 on behalf of the Morgan County Bicentennial Committee)