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Carlsbad Springs

Photo by Alan L Brown - Posted June, 2005

Photo by Alan L Brown with assistance from Sally Brown - Posted September, 2013

Plaque Location

The City of Ottawa
In a picnic area across a small footbridge
to the left of a parking lot at the blue P24 sign
3.8 km from Highway 417 via Boundary Road (Road 41)
and west on Russell Road (Road 26)

Coordinates: N 45 22.469 W 75 28.539

Plaque Text

In the 1860s, local innkeeper Daniel Eastman offered water from the natural mineral springs in this area for drinking and bathing. His inn was followed by larger hotels where guests were invited to "take the waters" for ailments such as rheumatism, nervousness, and digestive disorders. Eastman's Springs was soon a fashionable meeting place for Ottawa society. Also known as Cathartic, it became Carlsbad Springs by the early twentieth century when the Boyd family, owners of the largest hotel, named their establishment after a famous European spa. By supplementing spa therapy with social and recreational activities, the resort's four hotels remained popular until the Second World War. This springhouse was part of the Boyd spa complex.

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Here are the visitors' comments for this page.

> Posted December 7, 2013
Wow, it's an embarrassment to see this only one little tiny refurbished and generic and lonely looking shack of what's left of the old corner were Menards general store was and the creek right there and Boyd's hotel and Johnson's hotel and Tannenbuam's hotel which on other sites they say was destroyed and never re-built. It was rebuilt or something was there that they moved into and called a hotel (I was in that place many times) and it gathered some customers along with our hotel; the other one Epstien owned; I never heard about unless it was beside Tannenbaum's and left vacant situated on the small side road that went to the old train station. Those 3 hotels commanded the real Carlsbad Springs of the 50's and 60's at least. Before that I can't write anything here to try to be careful what I say. But I will add that there ain't no more springs that I know about (unless someone has a secret source somewhere like in the movies) as the tributaries of the 3 types of different water basis were re-routed and possible lost or destroyed somehow from blasting or or or ? destroyed in the early 60's when the old one at a time car bridge was demolished and a new two car/two lane bridge was built. If you can prove to me that you found the re-routed streams of sulfur water, spring water and mineral water I'd like to know where it can be found especially the sulfur one; the most powerful indeed. I lived 200 feet from the source for many years Aye. Geee I would also like to know if Boyd's buildings are still there especially Russel's mom's smaller house built beside the main hotel.
Cheers Jay from Ontario Canada

> Posted August 22, 2012
I am moving to Eighth Line Road next week, have bought a house there. I was wondering if the Boyd Spa Complex still sells or bottles water, and where that venture is at right now?
Thank you, Susan Bill

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