History of Preston Springs Hotel

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century Preston was famous throughout North America and Europe for the reputed recuperative powers of its mineral waters. The sulphur springs were said to be particularly effective in the treatments of rheumatism and arthritis.
There is a story, totally unsubstantiated, of a Preston gentleman who went to a famous Swiss doctor for treatment of his arthritis only to be told that the only treatment he (the doctor) knew of was to be found in the mineral waters at Preston.
However true this particular story might be, people flocked from far and wide and at the height of

The sulphur springs were discovered in 1833 or so by Joseph Erb, who was drilling unsuccessfully for salt. The "stinky water" was thought useless at first but it was not long before its medicinal powers were being proclaimed throughout the land. By the last quarter of the 19th century, the sulphur springs had made Preston world famous and provided the basis for a series of health resorts that rivaled those in Sarasota, New York and Carlsbadd, Austria. In fact, the number and quality of hotels were such that Preston was considered the "only civilized stop" on the Post Road connecting Hamilton and Goderich.
Preston?s Del Monte Hotel later the Preston Springs
The sulphur water at Preston was claimed by Dr. J. Scott Hogg, a resident physician, to be "often miraculous in their cures while it is an odd case indeed that is not benefited. Rheumatism, bilious and liver troubles, diseases of the kidneys and chronic disease of various kinds, including female complaints, yield to their use as baths and beverage". Dr. Hogg went to announce: "I have seen persons come on stretchers, in wheel chairs and on crutches to go away in a few weeks happy and free from disease, carrying the articles which supported them on their arrival". While reputedly beneficial, the water possesses a rather unpleasant smell. The odour is caused by the presence of hydrogen sulphide, a gas produced deep in the earth through the action of bacteria on dissolved sulphates. Aqueous solutions of this gas form a weak acid of mild germicidal properties. It has been reported that Roman soldiers bathed in sulphur springs to aid the healing of wounds received in battle.
There were three principal hotels in Preston offering mineral water treatments. They were the Del Monte (later the Preston Springs Gardens and later still the Preston Springs Gardens Retirement Home), the North American Hotel (later known as the Kress Hotel) and the Sulphur Springs Hotel.
The Del Monte was built around 1888 by Robert Walder who named his hotel after a famous San Francisco hotel of the same name. It featured a grand staircase leading to three upper floors and was located on five acres of terraced gardens and orchards. At the beginning of the twentieth century the hotel was doubled in size with the building extending south along Fountain Street. In 1914 Mr. Walden sold the hotel to a Toronto businessman who then, apparently, closed the hotel
for the war years. In the early 1920?s the hotel was purchased by Drs. J. Edwin and Gordon Hagmeier, two brothers who had graduated in medicine from the University of Toronto. It was their intention to operate the building both as a hotel and as a private sanitarium and clinic. With the arrival of the Hagmeiers, the hotel came to be known as the Preston Springs Hotel and Sanitarium. The first two floors of the building were restricted to hotel operations. ?There is no evidence of the usual sanatorium life to be seen. There are no invalids in wheel chairs; no long faces?. It was on the third and fourth floors that the clinic and various departments for treatment were to be found. The Hagmeier Clinic, was a sanitarium ?in the proper sense of the word ? not a refuge for incurables, but a comfortable home for those who, through rest and proper care, are regaining the precious gift of good health.? Potential clients were reassured that ?mental and tubercular cases are not received. Nor are cases of contagious diseases?. There were, unfortunately, additional restrictions that cannot be placed in a favourable light. In addition to those listed above, the hotel did not receive ?patients who, for racial or other reasons, might not be congenial members of the happy group of guests in the hotel.?
Those who were accepted for treatment were promised a remarkably friendly environment and an extremely thorough physical examination that occupied upwards of five days to complete. Patients were more than simply examined, they were ?studied, by observation, by means of the X-ray, by every possible biological analysis, and by every useful method know to modern science.? But while the medical care was held to be the most up to date possible, the Hagmeier Clinic assured its potential patients that ?diagnosis and treatment will not by any means fill all your hours.? Patients would enjoy their evenings in the hotel lounge ?where real logs blaze cheerfully
in the huge fireplace. A big bowl of crisp popcorn is almost too conveniently at hand while you enjoy your book or a game of bridge. Comfortable beds and the peace of the countryside
encourage long nights of restful sleep.? Long walks in the hotels terraced gardens were encouraged and fishing, horseback riding, trap shooting and golf were available for the more active visitors. The Preston Springs Sanitarium operated until the early 1940?s. In January 1943 the owners defaulted on a mortgage and the property was taken over by A. R. Kaufman who almost immediately turned the building over to the federal government to be used to house some to the naval trainees at the Women?s Royal Canadian Naval Training Establishment (HMCS Conestoga) in Galt.

Sources:

Public Archives of Canada
City of Cambridge Archives
Jim Quantrell (archivist - City of Cambridge Archives)