Bigelow Mill stood here first. Later, John Harkness and Lt. John Rankin ran a sawmill here beginning ca. 1790. Nathan Perkins had a blacksmith shop ca. 1800. The Douglas Cotton Manufacturing Company, a machine shop in 1815. In 1828, the milldam washed out and was not replaced.
In the 1840s, William Newell discovered mineral amounts in the springs. An analysis showed the presence of iron, sulfur, and other substances. He tried to develop the area on the idea of visitors and invalids “coming to take the waters.” He erecting two buildings. One was 45 x 16, with a refreshment room, sitting room, and kitchen. The other was 30 x 12, and was a bathing house. He called the establishment “Pleasant Village Pelham Springs.”
In 1861, Dr. Niles B. Sornborger of Northampton and Sanford A. Hendrick of Chicopee, purchased 20 acres of what eventually became the bulk of the lot known as “Orient Springs”, and constructed the Orient House, a “hotel for invalids and pleasure-seekers.” The timber was hewn in the nearby West Pelham mill of Horace P. Gray. The hotel was 100 feet by 36 feet, three and a half stories high on the west side. There were 75 rooms, of which 65 were sleeping rooms. The hotel was supplied by spring water carried in by pipes. A walk of 3/4ths of a mile was laid along Amethyst Brook. This was said to have been “the largest boarding-house in the county.” The business model was that of the spas in Europe and at resorts such as Saratoga Springs.
On April 29, 1861, the corner stone of the Orient House is laid and, on July 4, a “Celebration of Independence” gathering was held on the grounds in connection with the “Inauguration and Naming of Orient House.” The celebration included orations, brass band, and a procession from Amherst. Speakers included Emily Dickinson’s father, Edward Dickinson [1803-1874]. There were 2000-3000 people were in attendance.
In 1867 Dr. C. C. Beers was the new proprietor. “The springs beyond doubt possess important medical qualities while the location is one of the most pleasant in this region and can be otherwise than tempting to city residents in search of a pleasant place to pass the summer.” An advertisement lists the Orient Springs House as “a first class hotel…with…Pelham Mineral Springs celebrated for their health restoring qualities.” Improvements made in the building, the grounds graded, lawns and walks laid out. “The mineral springs unquestionably possess ample medicinal qualities for various diseases. The pure air, pleasant walks and drives in all directions, the picturesque and romantic scenery…cannot fail to prove a great attraction to tourists.”
In 1873, the hotel was bought by Dr. George W. Rhodes for $20,000. It was now reorganized as the Orient Springs Health Institute and “will be thoroughly refitted as a medical institute.” An advertisement boasts that the Institute is “for the treatment and cure of Paralysis in all its forms, Spinal Diseases, Contracted Cords and Limbs, Crooked Foot and Hands, Enlarged Joints, Wry Neck, Curvatures at the Spine, Hip Diseases, Rickets, St. Vitus’ Dance…Neuralgia, Rheumatism, and all Lameness; Nervous Diseases, Gout, Convulsions, Diseases of the Brain, Heart and Lungs, Cancers, Hysteria, &c.” But nothing changed, business-wise. On March 22, 1875, Dr. Rhodes was confronted by a number of creditors. His employee, a Mr. Wellin, threatened the creditors with a pistol before they dispersed, and the whole thing made the papers. Dr. Rhodes became bankrupt by May.
Sears and Westcott sold the 20 acres to William Pitman William who owned it until 1895 when the property was transferred to Frederick L. Pitman of the U. S. Patent Office in Washington, D.C. He later sold it to the Montague City Fish Rod Factory.
Bartlett was the largest employer in Pelham and owned a number of West Pelham properties, some which he rented to relatives and employees. He was instrumental in attracting the Amherst trolley to his factory in 1902. Now he tried his hand at developing Orient Springs, this time the northern part of the property along Amethyst Brook, as a swimming and recreation site made available to a more urbanized population in the Connecticut Valley. He had the trolley line extended from his factory at 22 Amherst Road, down North Valley Road, to the northern entrance of Orient Springs. In 1909, the trolley company, Holyoke Street Railway Company, built a pavilion and store near the swimming pond.
The old sawmill dam was replaced. Four or five of the natural springs were enhanced so as to become outdoor fountains. Trails again sprang up through the woods. Between 1901 and 1932, picnics, swimming, and group activities were held at the Orient Springs grounds off North Valley Road. Dinners were occasionally catered, bands and orchestras frequently played. People traveled from all areas of Connecticut Valley to the Springs by trolley and later by automobiles. Groups included church and school organizations, the Eastern Stars, Minister’s Wives Association, trade groups, etc. Activities included swimming, Fourth of July celebrations, school graduations, reunions, birthdays, meetings, lawn parties, etc. There were now 7 to 8 miles of trails in laid out in the surrounding woods, including several lighted paths. There was also a dance floor in the 1920s and 1930s.
In 1959, Amherst College president Dr. Charles Woolsey Cole [1906-1978] and wife Katharine Bush Salmon Cole [1906-1972] purchased Orient Springs. Dr. Cole was United States Ambassador to Chile in the Kennedy Administration. The Alschulers sold Orient Springs to Daniel Hillel [b. 1930] and Dr. Rachel Hillel [b. 1934] in 1978. Daniel was a scientist. Rachel, a Jungian clinical psychologist and author.
Thanks to Robert L. Keyes, Pelham historian.
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