Submitted by M.W. Ellison and published in ECHGS newsletter. Used with
their permission
The following article was published in the "Estill Eagle" on July 18,1890
W.H. Lilly, having purchased Captain J.M. Thomas' half of Estill Springs, the Hotel will be opened by him for guests June 15, 1890. Special passenger rates will be made from Cincinnati, Louisville, Lexington and between points by rail to Richmond, Ky., and thence by easy stage over well graded road to the Springs. Parties from any of the above points can, by taking their morning trains, reach the Springs the same evening for supper. The table will be first class. The housekeeping in charge of an experienced hostess. Means for healthful recreation provided. A bowling, billiard room, nice boats on the Kentucky river that skirts the property, a long clear sheet of water, with smooth, clean, sandy bed for swimming. Several nice roads for driving, and most delightful shady woods and hills to ramble in. Bathrooms on the premises. The surroundings are picturesque. Sweet Lick Knob, cone shaped and forest covered, rises sever hundred feet high in rear of the hotel. From its sides and summit, the view of the town of Irvine at its feet, the windings of the Kentucky river with its bottom farms, the outlying spurs and knobs that project their bold, green points into the horizon, makes the difficult climb and scenes from the summit, one of no ordinary impressiveness. The air is always cool, the mountains west of the Hotel shut off the mid-day and evening sun, and leaves the hotel nestling in delightful shade. From its base a few feet from the Hotel colonnade, issue the mineral springs that have given new life and health to many. The waters are white, red and black sulphur, chalybeate and alum. The White Sulphur or "Sweet Spring" water acts on the skin, liver and kidneys, and with salt, is a mild purgative. Though very light on the stomach, (it is impossible to drink too much) it removes all sorts of impurities from the system. The Black Sulphur is tinctured with iron, or in other words is sulphur and iron combined. There are two springs of the Chalybeate, one more strongly impregnated with iron than the other. The grotto in which one of these trickled forth is a favorite retreat. The water is Nature's tonic, distilled in her own laboratory. It is a wonderful invigorator and appetizer. Often the best results are obtained from alternating these waters, cleaning with the Sulphur and tonight with the iron. Rarely do they fail to restore the system to vigor and health. There is no case known in which they have ever produced unfavorable symptoms. We could get a thousand certificates of the curative properties of these waters if necessary. With real, new clean beds and linen, furniture of good class, tasteful parlors, dining room 28 by 72 feet, newly fitted and furnished, the proprietor, Mr. W.H. Lilly, has made Estill Springs the most delightful as it is the most healthful resort in the Mississippi Valley. Last season it had the best patronage of any springs in Kentucky. Daily mail. Stages meet all day trains. Livery furnished at reasonable rates. Board by the day $2.50, Board by the week $12.50, Board by the four weeks $40.00. Children over 10 years will be charged full rate, under to half rates. For further information address: Estill Springs Company, Irvine, KY
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