Hotel Mudlavia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hotel Mudlavia (commonly referred to simply as Mudlavia, and originally named the Indiana Springs Company) was a hotel and spa built on the site of a natural spring near the town of Kramer in Warren County, Indiana. The spring was discovered by Samuel Story, a Civil War soldier who, in August 1884, was reputed to have been working in the mud digging a drainage ditch. He drank water from the spring and discovered that his rheumatism symptoms gradually disappeared.

Harry L. Kramer developed the concept and opened the beautiful hotel on December 25, 1890 at a cost of $250,000. It served guests for many years and drew visitors from around the world including such famous people as John L. Sullivan, James Bingham, James Whitcomb Riley, Harry Lauder, Captain Jack Crawford, and Paul Dresser. The building was destroyed by fire on February 29, 1920.

A smaller building was constructed in the 1960s and was operated as a rest home called "Pleasant Valley Lodge". It burned in 1968.

[edit] References

  • Warren County Historical Society (1966), A History of Warren County, Indiana, pp. 157-159.
  • Warren County Historical Society (2002), A History of Warren County, Indiana (175th Anniversary Edition).