Wiesbaden Hot Springs
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| Wiesbaden Hot Springs | |
|---|---|
| Mother Buchannan Bath House | |
 Original bathhouse building from 1879 | |
 | |
| Location | Ouray, Colorado |
| Coordinates | 38°1′24″N 107°40′6″W / 38.02333°N 107.66833°W |
| Elevation | 7,760 feet (2,370 m) |
| Type | Geothermal |
| Discharge | 2 and 30 US gal/min (7.6 and 113.6 L/min; 1.7 and 25.0 imp gal/min) |
| Temperature | 118 °F (48 °C) |
  Wiesbaden Hot Springs | |
Wiesbaden Hot Springs is a group of three thermal springs and a vapor cave in Ouray, Colorado.[1] The spring water flows from the source at 118 °F (48 °C) and is cooled to between 99 and 108 °F (37 and 42 °C) in the soaking pools.[2]
The hot springs were first used by the indigenous Colorado Ute peoples. Chief Ouray of the Tabeguache (Uncompahgre) band of the Ute tribe, built an adobe home at the hot springs. The ruins of this structure were found in an archaeological study. There he held meetings, over a period of 20 years, with tribal leaders from seven Ute bands and with officers of the U.S. government. The purpose of these meetings was to negotiate a permanent home for the Ute people. However, in 1881 approximately 1,200 Utes were removed at gunpoint.[2][3]
In the mid-1800s gold miners happened upon the vapor cave in their excavations. In 1879, the wood-framed Mother Buchanan Bath House opened as a commercial enterprise catering to miners.[2][4][5] In the 1890s the missionary James Joseph Gibbons stayed at Mother Bucannon's Bath House and wrote that Mrs. Bucannon came from Donegal, Ireland. Her husband, known as The General, was considered openhearted.[6]
In 1902, a small bathhouse was built by A.J. Dunbarton. In the 1920s, a doctor, C.V. Bates, enlarged the vapor cave and opened the Bates Hospital and Sanatorium at the site.[2][5] The current Historic Wiesbaden Hot Springs Spa & Lodgings is the oldest commercial hot spring establishment in Ouray.[7]