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History of The Jefferson Pools
The magnificent, naturally warm mineral springs that are just five miles from The Homestead developed as a spa resort
in the mid 1750s, and on June 1, 1761, an octagonal wooden building was opened to the public. It had been constructed
around the pool of warm spring water, and it remains today very much as it was then.
The pool inside is about 120 feet in circumference, and holds 40,000 gallons of constantly flowing, crystal clear
mineral spring water. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places and a Virginia Historic Landmark, it is
considered the oldest spa structure in America.
Warm Springs expanded rapidly as a spa resort. Hotels, dining rooms and kitchens, taverns, livery stables and a
blacksmith shop, a church, laundry and related buildings were built to accommodate the growing numbers of guests who
arrived to Take the Waters.
Thomas Jefferson was one of those travelers, arriving in 1818 at the age of 75, and suffering from what he described
as "rheumatism." He stayed for over three weeks, taking the waters several times each day, in the Gentlemen's
Pool House that continues to be used to this day. On August 13, 1818, Jefferson rode to The Homestead, where he enjoyed
breakfast and dinner, and soaked in our legendary hot springs.
And in a letter dated August 14, 1818 to his daughter Martha, Jefferson spread the reputation of our therapeutic
natural mineral spring waters at both Warm Springs and The Homestead: he described them in glowing terms, saying that
they were "of the first merit." And so, these historic natural spring pools are named in honor of their most
illustrious patron - they are The Homestead's Jefferson Pools.
On June 1st, 1836 a separate Ladies Pool House was opened, fed by a separate spring whose waters have the same
properties as those which supply the adjacent Gentlemen's Pool House. The Jefferson Pools are continuously fed by
several natural mineral springs from deep beneath the earth. The superlative, crystal clear spring waters at the
Jefferson Pools are rich in minerals, and are a constant 98 degrees at their source - perfect, natural body temperature.
Taking the waters at the Jefferson Pools continues to be a favorite activity today, and it is just as relaxing and
restorative as it was in 1761 when the Gentlemen's Pool House was built.
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