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Images of America: California
Tuscan Springs
Tuscan Springs, originally "Lick Springs," was a collection of mineral waters near Red Bluff, California, which Native Americans considered such sacred ground that even warring tribes would lay down their weapons and bathe there together in peace. It was here that Dr. John A. Veatch became the first person in America to discover "white gold" (borax) in 1856, and he renamed the site after the fumaroles of Italy. While plans to extract the mineral proved impractical, word quickly spread of the healing properties of these alleged miraculous springs, and hundreds soon "were taking the waters." But, it was not until the property fell into the hands of an ambitious local merchant, Edgerton Walbridge--equal parts Teddy Roosevelt, William Randolph Hearst, and P.T. Barnum--that the springs gained worldwide fame, drawing visitors to Tehama County from throughout the country by carriage, railroad, and steamboat.
128 pages, Paperback
First published February 15, 2014
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October 25, 2014
The book: An impressive collection of visual ephemera. Woven together by a well-researched narrative about Tuscan Springs, a mineral springs resort in Tehama County, California—NE of Red Bluff. If you're not from around there, you probably have never heard of it, as it hasn't been in operation for nearly 100 years.
My only complaint about the book lies in how some of the material was arranged. Photo spreads appeared between the very short chapters, and in at least once case there was photo material (and the accompanying captions) presenting information before a reader had read the narrative version. And no SPOILER ALERT! warning...
The author: Died suddenly not long after this book was released. Very sad, given the years of work he had put into researching and writing about the site—originally in the mid-90s for a play inspired by the resort. Glad to see he was at least having some success with this research at the end. It was really lovely seeing the culminating work. I just wish it hadn't been in conjunction of learning of his death.
My only complaint about the book lies in how some of the material was arranged. Photo spreads appeared between the very short chapters, and in at least once case there was photo material (and the accompanying captions) presenting information before a reader had read the narrative version. And no SPOILER ALERT! warning...
The author: Died suddenly not long after this book was released. Very sad, given the years of work he had put into researching and writing about the site—originally in the mid-90s for a play inspired by the resort. Glad to see he was at least having some success with this research at the end. It was really lovely seeing the culminating work. I just wish it hadn't been in conjunction of learning of his death.
Displaying 1 of 1 review