1907 – 1932
Three Hotels, a Military Academy, and a Hospital
The hotel burns again. What follows is a rapid-fire cycle of reinvention—a replacement hotel, a ginger ale company, a military academy, a sanitarium—each one smaller than the last.
Arnold Builds a 100-Room Hotel—Then WWI Empties It
J. Thomas Arnold and Associates bought the property and built a 100-room hotel that opened to a full house. Within days of the news from Europe, it emptied. Arnold also manufactured Chick Springs Ginger Ale, distributed through jobbers across the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida. In April 1916, the enterprise was sold at public auction for $48,000. Four-fifths interest went to Stroud, Berry, and Bull. The Chick Springs Water Company was incorporated with $100,000 in capital stock.
Military Academy Opens in the Hotel—Closes Within Two Years
Major W.D. Workman served as commandant and C.B. Martin as superintendent. The 100-room hotel became barracks; the annex held classrooms and a chapel; the pavilion became a gymnasium. In October 1917, a $25,000 annex burned—faulty wiring. The Greenville fire department came “in autos but could render no assistance.” Cadets went on strike during an unusually cold December. The academy closed permanently. Three fires in 55 years.
Steedly Clinic and Sanitarium—the Last Institutional Chapter
Steedly incorporated the clinic in March 1919 with $250,000 in capital—$50,000 from Bull, $25,000 from Steedly himself, and the rest raised through Greenville and Greer citizens. The four-story hotel was remodeled in Spanish architecture with white columns. The clinic opened with 60 patients and established a state-rated nursing school. It was promoted as rivaling Johns Hopkins. On January 12, 1932, Steedly suffered a cerebral hemorrhage at 1 AM while visiting a patient and died hours later. The clinic closed that December. It was the last institution to occupy the resort buildings. Within five years, the hotel would be razed and the property fragmented.