Tuscan Springs

Download or read book Tuscan Springs written by Bryon Burruss and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2014-02-10 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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 Walbridgeequal parts Teddy Roosevelt, William Randolph Hearst, and P.T. Barnumthat the springs gained worldwide fame, drawing visitors to Tehama County from throughout the country by carriage, railroad, and steamboat.