The 1910 New Owners Remodel The Greenbrier

by Sandra Merville Hart

In A Spring at The Greenbrier, Book 7 in Romance at the Gilded Age Resorts Series, Marilla, our heroine, works at The Greenbrier. This historic resort had been purchased from previous owners in 1910, who renamed it “The White”. Guests who had been returning for long stays year after year chose to affectionately refer to the hotel as “The Old White”.

Three churches held Sunday services at The Greenbrier around the time it changed hands. St. Thomas’ Episcopal Chapel had been built in 1885. Local residents had built a Methodist church in 1855, and it was largely attended by guests as well as townspeople. From its high position on the resort, St. Charles, Church of Rome, offered breathtaking views to churchgoers.

The grounds had changed little for fifty years before the new owners took over in 1910. Dramatic changes were made in the remodeling and not only in the addition of wings.

New walkways were laid on the center of the grounds after the old dining room was torn down. Romantic trails were created in the woods, giving couples plenty of choices—Lover’s Walk, Hesitance Row, Lover’s Leap, Courtship Maze, Rejection Row, and Acceptance Way to Paradise.

Although the needs of her family has forced Marilla, our heroine in A Spring at The Greenbrier, to push aside dreams of a husband and family, she still longs to walk the romantic trails with a handsome beau.

Sources

Conte, Robert S. The History of The Greenbrier: America’s Resort, Pictorial Histories Publishing Co., 1989.

McDowell, Aubin Aydelotte. Greenbrier White Sulphur Springs: White Sulphur Springs as known in History and Tradition, W.F. Roberts & Co, 1909.