SWEET SPRINGS, W.Va. (Hinton News) – Spring at the park has started with a “wind storm.” With the successful start of the Historic Sweet Springs Turnpike Trail in October 2023, and the exciting March 16th Easter Egg/Safari Hunt at the Park, it appears Spring is in the air. Flowers are blooming, grass is turning green, the sound of mowers and weed-eaters “zooming” in the yards, it is time to consider vacations, meetings, weddings, reunions, and outdoor recreational activities for the summer and fall.
The flower circle in front of the Jeffersonian-designed hotel has started the 2024 colors with a beautiful ring of yellow Easter Lilies. When in full bloom the circle is a garden of multiple colors with a beautiful Magnolia tree centered in the middle overlooking the rolling lawn.
Anyone with extra flowers or shrubs is invited to donate them to the Sweet Springs Resort Park Foundation Inc., a 501(C)(3) nonprofit charitable organization dedicated to the restoration of this Historic National Landmark property and to providing outdoor recreational activities to the area including Mountain Biking which is the summer skiing activity and will be the first trail in the area. To donate flowers or shrubs, send an email to sweetspringsresortpark@yahoo.
In March, Sweet Springs Park welcomed the first AmeriCorps employee for the Trail and Beautification program. Thomas Haley of White Sulphur Springs is the AmeriCorp worker with us until October 2024 helping with the clearing of the trail, designing of the Mountain Biking Trail, and beautification of the Jeffersonian Hotel grounds as this is the Trailhead area for the Historic Sweet Springs Turnpike Trail.
The next event to take place at Sweet Springs Resort Park will be on July 13, the first Freedom Festival with music of various genres, food, arts and crafts, axe throwing competition, tug of war competition, horseshoes, croquet, children’s games and more.
On July 18-22, the Sweet Springs Institute will host the annual Sustainability Forum and will be adding some very interesting new classes this year. There are two classes you don’t want to miss. The first is for campers, young adults, fishermen, or just about any outdoor recreational participant. Participants will learn how to choose a rock, and clean and season the rock so it can be used to cook your food. The second, “A Preservation Specialist,” will show the art of making the bricks the same fashion they were made when the hotel was built – no cement or other bonding agent – and how to create the mortar to lay the brick and an “in-ground” or mountainside kiln for baking the bricks. This class is perfect for brick masons, preservation specialists, and historic restoration workers. Both classes are perfect for young adults, Scouts, FFA, and 4-H members of all ages.
More classes will be announced before the forum takes place. Watch the website www.sweetspringsresortpark.org and the Facebook page: Sweet Springs Resort Park for more information.
Mark your calendars for the MIA/POW CELEBRATION on September 21, 2024 – the famous House of Horror and Hayride in October – and the special holiday celebrations to take place in November and December.
For more information please contact 304-536-4743 or sweetspringsresortpark@yahoo.
