You had questions, and we’ve got some answers.
A while back on social media, we asked our guests about
things they’ve always wondered about the resort and the surrounding
communities. Here’s what we dug up…
Q: I have wondered how the towns of West Baden and French Lick came to
be separate towns but attached.
A: The presence
of the hotels in each town were actually the genesis of our side-by-side towns
of French Lick and West Baden Springs.
After the first hotel was built on the French Lick Springs
Hotel property in 1845, a competing resort was constructed 10 years later in
1855 — a retaliatory response by Dr. John Lane against former business
associate Dr. William Bowles, the hotel owner at French Lick. Lane’s hotel was
called the Mile Lick Inn, since it was a mile up the road from French Lick. The
surrounding town was also called Mile Lick, if only briefly.
“I’ve always been told Dr. John Lane changed named of town
from Mile Lick to West Baden because he was so upset at Dr. Bowles for breaking
the lease with him,” resort historian Jeff Lane tells us.
As both hotels flourished, the surrounding towns also began
to blossom and grow outward. By the early/mid 1900s, they expanded to the point
they touched each other, even as the people of the neighboring towns often had
a contentious relationship with each other just as the hotels once did.
The towns remain separate today with their own unique ZIP
codes and civic services, and they still blend into each other — were it not
for the road signs, it’d be hard to know when you were leaving one town and
entering the other.
Q: Why is little Larry Bird not in the mural anymore?
A: The two-story mural
painted on the brick wall of a downtown building has been an iconic part of French
Lick for decades. Even if Larry and a few others aren’t present these days.
There used to be a series of wooden cutout people situated throughout
the mural — a young Larry Bird being one of them, as the mural depicts scenes
and history from the town’s past. (The mural was originally designed by the
daughter of the building’s prior owner.) Many of the wooden cutouts became
weathered over the years — and since he’s the most famous native in town, the Larry
cutout unfortunately became a target for thieves as well.
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| Compare this old photo with the one above, and you'll see a couple of the wooden cutouts that are no longer on the mural. (Such as the two men by the park bench.) |
Hill’s Venue, which now owns the building, says they are planning an update of the mural eventually, and have Larry Bird’s approval to put his image back on there. In time, you’ll probably see French Lick’s favorite son make a return to the wall.
Q: Is it true the two Plutos were doing to be put in their original
place on the roof, at the back entrance to the gardens, until people got up in
arms about Pluto being the devil? He is the mythical ruler of the underworld …
but he’s still a mascot and I miss having the Plutos at the hotel.
A: Back in the
day there were two shiny bronze Pluto statues that overlooked French Lick
Springs Hotel: as the question indicates, they were once located on the back
side of the hotel near the gardens (above where 1875: The Steakhouse is now).
They even took up residence for a while on top of the marquee at the front
entrance.
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| Look closely in this old photo and postcard, and you'll see the Pluto statues on the marquee and roof. |
The devilish-looking Pluto became the hotel’s mascot in the
early 1900s, thanks to the Pluto water that guests flocked here for and the
Pluto water bottling plant that was located next door. In later year, the Pluto
statues were displayed indoors. But when the hotel was bought and restored in
the mid-2000s, the new ownership thought the Pluto mascot wasn’t as good a fit
today as it was 100 years ago.
They still wanted to keep the Pluto presence at the hotel,
as resort historian Jeff Lane explains:
“So they decided it would be best to have a nice Pluto mural
painted on the ceiling of the lobby, so as to not completely lose Pluto from
the hotel – and then the resort would loan the statues to the French Lick West
Baden Museum, so that you can still go there and get your picture taken next to
a Pluto.”
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| Pluto's world is depicted on a ceiling mural in the hotel lobby, and Pluto is the one in the second panel from the left, wearing the blue robe. |
The museum is right across the highway from the hotel, and as you’d expect, the Pluto statue is the No. 1 selfie spot there.
Q: In the surrounding community, at the Wilstem Ranch entrance, how old
is the beautiful red covered bridge?
A: Speaking of
great spots for a picture, you’ll want to hop out of the car and grab a quick
photo at the covered bridge on the road leading to Wilstem. It’s a beautiful
sight, even if it’s not as old as it may appear.
The covered bridge was added in 2000 as Wilstem (which
opened in 1989) continued to expand into the animal empire it is today. The
bridge was built from two train cars put end to end, so it’s sturdier than its
vintage appearance would suggest — it can support the weight of large trucks
that need to get make deliveries to Wilstem.
Before the bridge, vehicles had to travel through a tiny
creek and when the water was high, traffic had to go through a lengthy detour
of back roads to reach Wilstem.
Q: Is there really a gorge or cave on the old Gorge property?
A: Indeed, the
former Gorge Inn that was a popular supper club/gambling establishment in the
early 1900s was built in a valley surrounded by steep hills. Since it was a few
miles out of town from French Lick, the remote location was ideal for those who
wanted to participate in some, shall we say, fun and games since gambling was illegal back then.
There are a few small caves on the premises as well, though
nothing of the magnitude of major nearby attractions nearby like Marengo Cave and Bluespring Caverns. The Gorge’s glory days are a thing of the past, though. After the
gambling raid of 1949 shut down all the illegal casinos, the Gorge served as a
restaurant and a retirement home until closing in 2006. It’s on private property
and not accessible to the public.
Q: What is George Rogers Clark’s connection to French Lick?
A: The famed
military leader and explorer trekked through this area in the late 1700s,
during his expeditions from Vincennes to the Falls of the Ohio River near
Louisville. There’s a handful of theories about how French Lick got its name,
but the most widely accepted explanation is that George Rogers Clark is the one
credited for giving French Lick its distinct name.
As the story goes, Clark noticed the abundant wildlife
licking the ground and rocks for the salty deposits left behind by the mineral
springs. During that time, French traders had begun trickling into the area as
well. Clark somehow decided to join “French” and “Lick” together, and the rest
is history.