Just think — if it were 100 years ago, you might be just getting started on your 40-day vacation.
Consider this little factoid from the early days of French
Lick and West Baden Springs Hotels: The average stay for guests here was two to
six weeks. Just chew on that for a second. Today, we become giddy schoolkids when
we get a three-day holiday weekend. And a vacation of two straight weeks?
Almost unheard of. Yet back in the day, the extended vacay was the rule and not
the exception.
In particular, it was popular for guests to plan their
extended visits during this little stretch between the Kentucky Derby and
Indianapolis 500. Particularly for the East Coasters or others coming in from
far reaches, they could hit up both iconic sporting events and hang out in
between reveling in the resort life for a month or more at French Lick or West
Baden.
What gives with the marathon getaways? Jeff Lane, French
Lick Resort’s historian, helps connect the dots.
“So many wealthy guests had so many servants at home. And
they became so lethargic. They gained extra weight. They just didn’t have any
energy. So they went someplace to try to feel better,” Lane explained.
“The point was to get them out and active. I think some of
them may have even brought their servants along, especially if they had kids,
to take care of the children while they ran around and did what they wanted to
do.”
West Baden Springs Hotel even had a sanitarium long ago with regimented health and wellness itineraries — riding horses and walking the grounds, for example. It was also a common practice to be assigned to a doctor who’d suggest proper meals and prescribe other feel-good remedies.
In essence, before there were Paleo diets and P90X workout videos, the resorts at French Lick and West Baden were the health-conscious fads of their time.
“It was kind of a health craze, in a way, that got people
motivated and realizing, hmm, what if I
move around a little more?” Jeff explained. “I think that was what kept
people coming back.”
And back…and back…and back…to the tune of 14 trains full of
people per day arriving at the hotels, unloading enormous steamer trunks full
of the necessities for a multi-week visit. “And some actually came in their
private railroad cars — you just hook up your own railroad car to the train,”
Jeff added.
 |
| Train and trolley service back in the day brought guests right up to the front steps of the hotels. |
 |
| A coffee break on the train. |
The month of May meant big business for the hotels, which were so closely linked with the Kentucky Derby that our 1875: The Steakhouse derives its name from the first year the Derby was contested. (And pictures of every Derby winner line the restaurant walls today). The Derby was such a high-traffic event that when West Baden Springs Hotel temporarily closed in December of 1931 because of low patronage, the hotel decided to reopen the following spring to honor the scores of Kentucky Derby reservations that had already been booked.
 |
| Aristides, the winner of the inaugural Kentucky Derby in 1875, is pictured in a prominent spot at 1875: The Steakhouse. The restaurant at French Lick Springs Hotel was named to honor the first year of the Derby, and the restaurant's walls are filled with framed photos or illustrations of every horse to win the famed race. |
And speaking of the Indianapolis 500, did you know that French
Lick and West Baden were talked about when it came to building the track for
the famous race?
Thomas Taggart owned French Lick Springs Hotel at the time
and was in contact with Carl Fisher, who ended up founding his now-iconic motor
speedway in Indianapolis in 1909. Fisher’s vision was building a 5-mile track
more suitable for an auto race — many of those early ones were held on smaller
dirt horse tracks — and Taggart was interested in bringing a track to the
Springs Valley since he recognized the business it would attract to his
expanding hotel business. Nothing serious became of the venture, largely
because the project required such a large chunk of flat land that wouldn’t be
possible within this area’s hilly landscape.
So instead of races, French Lick and West Baden became
synonymous with relaxation. Start banking up those vacation days if you want to
stay here as long as the guests of the 1910s and ’20s.