THE GOLDEN AGE OF SPAS: CALEDONIA AND CARLSBAD SPRINGS
AN IN-PERSON LECTURE | REGISTER USING DROP-DOWN FORM ON THE RIGHT
Peter D. Clark - Orléans Centre, Room 340, 255 Centrum Blvd., Ottawa
From 1835 to 1915, Caledonia Springs, located in eastern Ontario, was Canada's largest spa resort. Thousands of spa guests from Canada and the United States flocked there to enjoy the healing properties of its mineral springs, its hotels—including the prestigious Grand Hotel—and its many leisure and sporting activities. Carlsbad Springs, closer to Ottawa, targeted the same clientele but never achieved the popularity of Caledonia Springs.
Today, Caledonia Springs is a ghost town, as is the former spa site of Carlsbad Springs. This lecture invites you to discover the factors that contributed to the rise of these two spa towns in the 19th century and their decline in the early 20th century. The speaker will also present his remarkable collection of documents, photographs, and artifacts.
A question and answer period will follow the lecture.
This lecture will be presented in French.
Michel Prévost, D.U., president of the Société d’histoire de l’Outaouais, was chief archivist at the University of Ottawa for 30 years and has been the President of the Société d’histoire de l’Outaouais since 1997. Passionate about thermalism for 45 years, he has published two books and several articles on these two spas and has given numerous lectures on these fascinating places that no longer exist. He has received some 40 awards, including the City of Ottawa Heritage Award and an honorary doctorate from Saint Paul University, in recognition of his outstanding commitment to heritage.
