Red Boiling Springs, Tennessee

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Red Boiling Springs is a city in Macon County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 1,023 at the 2000 census.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 History
4 External links

[edit] Geography

Location of RedBoilingSprings, Tennessee

Red Boiling Springs is located at 36°31′57″N, 85°50′59″W (36.532509, -85.849742)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.7 km² (1.4 mi²), all land.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 1,023 people, 404 households, and 252 families residing in the city. The population density was 278.2/km² (719.8/mi²). There were 457 housing units at an average density of 124.3/km² (321.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.14% White, 0.29% Native American, 0.10% Asian, 0.29% from other races, and 1.17% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.27% of the population.

There were 404 households out of which 28.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.3% were married couples living together, 13.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.6% were non-families. 33.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.87.

In the city the population was spread out with 21.9% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 23.0% from 25 to 44, 24.2% from 45 to 64, and 23.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 75.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 69.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $19,868, and the median income for a family was $28,333. Males had a median income of $26,313 versus $16,842 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,274. About 18.4% of families and 25.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 34.2% of those under age 18 and 18.1% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] History

Red Boiling Springs once enjoyed tremendous popularity as a mineral water resort, with its peak occurring in the first quarter of the 20th century, when it was visited by many then-famous personages, most notably President Woodrow Wilson. Almost uniquely, five different types of mineral waters occur there. They were named for various colors; two, dubbed "Red" and "Black", were from springs which were capped off and then piped throughout the town to a series of wells with manually-operated pumps on both public and private property. Over a dozen hotels were erected to take advantage of tourism; the area's relative difficulty of access proved a boon in a way, in that visitors, once having made the then-considerable effort required to arrive, were likely to stay for at least several days. The flavor of the "Red" water that they found was only somewhat sulphurous and seemed to be at least slightly agreeable to many; the "Black" was very-strongly flavored, off-putting to the novice, and an acquired taste (at best) for most.

"Taking the waters" at Red Boiling Springs then generally consisted of more than merely ingesting them; steam and tub baths featuring the waters and their alleged theraputic properties were often featured. The various waters contained several minerals but sulphur was predominant, giving the waters the scent (and some would say, the flavor) of rotten eggs. As the resort grew, it became the stopping point for minstrel shows and other entertainments to a far greater degree than typical for towns of its small size.

Several factors contributed to the town's decline as a major resort. One was a general loss of confidence and interest in the purportedly curative powers of mineral waters by Americans during the 20th century as it progressed. The town was already in decline when the Great Depression destroyed many Americans' disposable incomes and hence budget for travel. The area's general remoteness also began to work against it; this was greatly aggravated by World War II and the resultant gasoline rationing. Tourism focus shifted within Tennessee to more highly-developed areas such as the Smoky Mountains. By the time the postwar period had arrived, most of the hotels had closed and the area was a shell of its former self. It became a semi-permanently depressed, somewhat blighted area, and a devastating flood in June of 1969 probably marked the town's nadir.

Grants made for the town's relief, and the subsequent channelization of the streams responsible for most of the flooding, marked the beginning of a modest turnaround. By the late 1970s the town began to revisit its history in earnest with an eye to marketing it a tourist destination again, if only on a small scale. Two covered bridges were restored, and park lands were redeveloped. Later, the site of a former hotel was made into a library. Several schemes were advanced to bottle and market the mineral water; however, none were to succeede at the time.

At the beginning of the 21st century, a large water bottling plant was built on the outskirts of town by Nestlé; ironically, it bottles none of the historically-favored waters but rather one with a low mineral content and very little sulphur, which is found to be more to the taste of the general American consuming public.

As of 2005, three of the historic hotels are in operation, with one still offering a full complement of steam treatment, mineral tub baths, and theaputic massage. A major issue confronting the town is the fate of the two historic pumps for the old mineral-water system which remain on public property and are still used as an unofficial public water supply (the system was largely supplanted by a modern municipal-style water system years ago); the town would seem to face potential liability if anyone were to claim health damage from their use as they are currently uninspected and unregulated. A municipal committee has been set up to deal with this issue.

The official web site of Red Boiling Springs is www.RedBoilingSpringsTN.com.