Historians and history buffs are invited to an open house at the historic Dunlap farm and cemetery at Red Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, in Monroe County 2-5 p.m. Sunday, October 3.
Built in about 1830, the farm's manor house may be the oldest structure in the former resort town that developed around Red Sulphur Springs, and it remains in almost pristine condition, according to historians Randy Burdette and David Sibray, who are hosting the event.
"This is an amazing piece of history that we think the public can benefit from exploring," says Burdette, who recently discovered a little-known association between the property and the spring.
"It appears that some people who had succumbed to ailments while visiting the spring were buried in the cemetery adjacent to the house. Some graves are marked with elaborate inscribed monuments while others are simple fieldstones."
Little is otherwise left of the springs complex, which was established in about 1800 and boasted more 350 hotel rooms. After the Civil War, the property was owned by former vice-president Levi Morton.
People who wish to attend may wish to bring all-wheel-drive vehicles, Burdette says. Signage along W.Va. Route 12 at Red Sulphur Springs will direct visitors onto Indian Mills Road (County Route 27) and to the farm.
The farm and springs are a drive of approximately an hour from Beckley and Lewisburg and 40 minutes from Princeton.
For more information, contact Randy Burdette at 304-667-2897 or David Sibray at 304-575-7390. The event is sponsored by Foxfire Realty and West Virginia Explorer Magazine.
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