![]() ![]() In 1915, the decrepit cabins were razed and Wilbur's then-owner, J. Post Office (in service until 1945) and was used as a way station for the local stagecoach. With its ramshackle bathhouses and neglected cabins, there was “no hotel worthy of the name” at Wilbur. A mile down the road, Sulphur Creek featured a resort and mining village – this time for gold. To get there, guests would travel on the Southern Pacific Railroad to Williams, then travel 22 miles (35 km) to the springs, a four-hour trip by stagecoach.īy 1891, however, Wilbur's fortunes were in decline due to an absentee owner and a better property at Sulphur Creek Village. By the 1880s, the European-style health resort built beside the hot springs reached its heyday: Wilbur Springs was known for its scalding hot water springs – “unexcelled for certain diseases” – that boiled up over an area of 100 square feet (9.3 m 2). Meanwhile, the reputation of the “miraculous cures” of Sulphur Creek continued to grow. Later that year, Wilbur Hot Sulphur Springs was sold to Marcus Marcuse of Marysville. ![]() Within eight months, Wilbur purchased Howell's share of the property for $200, built a wood-frame hotel and announced the opening of ‘Wilbur Hot Sulphur Springs’ in 1865. Formed to mine copper along Sulphur Creek, their partnership was soon disbanded when copper ore proved difficult to treat and decreased in value. In 1863, Ezekial Wilbur and Edwin Howell purchased a 640-acre (2.6 km 2) ranch for $1,500. However, European settlers became attracted to the Wilbur Hot Springs area because of minerals – not in the water, but in the ground – first, copper and sulfur, then gold. Often the journeys were long and arduous – and getting to the Colusa County hot springs, soon to be as renowned as Germany's Baden-Baden spas, was no exception. Throughout America in the late 19th century, hot springs became very popular among those who could afford to stay at fashionable hot springs resorts – and to get there in the first place. General John Bidwell went back to San Francisco and Chico (where he owned the best known farm in California) and spread the word of these healing waters. Bidwell brought his man to the waters where he was miraculously cured. Local Native Americans told him about powerful waters, later to be known as Wilbur Hot Springs. According to local lore, wealthy social activist and congressman General John Bidwell was searching for gold in 1863 when one of his men got deathly sick. Before European settlers came, the springs were used by the Patwin, Pomo, Wintun and Colusi – Native American inhabitants of Northern California's Coast Range mountains. Wilbur Hot Springs’ history goes back centuries. It is part of the Western US, Baja, and British Columbia Hot Springs networks, with its elevation within Colusa County at 1,400 feet (430 m) The temperature of the springs ranges from 140 degrees to 152 ☏ (67 ☌), and has a flow rate of about 30 gallons per minute. Wilbur Hot Springs come from the ground near Bear Creek. Wilbur Hot Springs is a naturally occurring historic hot spring, health sanctuary, personal retreat and 1,800-acre (7.3 km 2) nature reserve in Williams, Colusa County, in northern California, United States, about 2 hours northeast of the San Francisco Bay Area and 1½ hours north of the Sacramento Airport. ![]() Thermal springs and nature reserve in California The front of the lodge ![]()
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