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Hotel Mudlavia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 

Hotel Mudlavia (commonly referred to simply as Mudlavia, and originally named the Indiana Springs Company) was a hotel and spa built on the site of a natural spring near the town of Kramer in Warren County, Indiana. The spring was discovered by Samuel Story, a Civil War soldier who, in August 1884, was reputed to have been working in the mud digging a drainage ditch. He drank water from the spring and discovered that his rheumatism symptoms gradually disappeared.

Harry L. Kramer developed the concept and opened the beautiful hotel on December 25, 1890 at a cost of $250,000. It served guests for many years and drew visitors from around the world including such famous people as John L. Sullivan, James Bingham, James Whitcomb Riley, Harry Lauder, Captain Jack Crawford, and Paul Dresser. The building was destroyed by fire on February 29, 1920.

A smaller building was constructed in the 1960s and was operated as a rest home called "Pleasant Valley Lodge". It burned in 1968.

 

Dale L. White · "Samuel Story was my Grandmother's Uncle. He served in the Civil War in the 142nd Indiana Volunteers Regiment Infantry, Company I. He mustered out July 14, 1865. He then began to drain the swamp off of his property, with a spade. After working in the trenches, covered in mud and drinking the spring water, he realized his arthritis was no longer bothering him. He died April 14, 1917 and is buried in the Highland Cemetery in Williamsport, IN."
Dale White, Williamsport.