Capon Springs, West Virginia

Lou Austin's Inspiration Lives On Today


The Spring House at Capon Springs...

A Milestone Monday Feature

Early in the Great Depression a Philadelphia businessman came to the wild mountains of West Virginia. His interest was in distributing the healthy spring water of an old spa resort to the city of Philadelphia so he came seeking exclusive distribution rights.

Capon Springs had been a popular destination since the Nineteenth Century when a group of Baltimore investors had financed the construction of the 500 room Mountain House there. After the Civil War, Capt. William H. Sale took over the resort and added more rooms.The resort thrived until 1911, when the Mountain House burned down. The large annex, which Sale built in 1887 then became the main building and is the center of the complex today.

When Lou Austin arrived with his plan to bottle and distribute the water, Capon Springs was in decline. Austin bought the property in 1932 at auction and proceeded with his plan to distribute the water while his wife, Virginia, took over hospitality operations.

Federal regulators were challenging health claims of bottled spring water at the time and Mr. Austin found himself in the middle of legal proceedings. He won at the Federal level but soon found that State and local regulatory agencies where in cahoots with the Feds. EventuallyAustin was forced to abandon the sale of the water and concentrate on the resort.

Here is where the Divine inspiration appears. Unlike the Homestead and the Greenbrier, which fashioned themselves into high-end hotels, Capon Springs literally became an extension of the Austins' personal hospitality.

Initially the Austins' friends visited and enjoyed the atmosphere of family style dinners and no locks on the doors. Friends invited friends and the circle grew. Guests today follow 'the Capon Way' and enjoy an atmosphere more like a family gathering than a hotel stay.

The resort grew, and by the mid Twentieth Century was a thriving vacation destination. The wonderful healthful water from the springs is now provided free of charge. You can drive in anytime and fill your own containers or buy bottles to fill at the front desk. You are free to decide for yourself on the merits of the fine tasting water which flows from 1600 feet below the surface at a rate of 100 gallons a minute; A rate that seems unaffected by the cycle of drought and rains on the surface.


...is explained by Austin's grandson Jonathan. The family still operates Capon Springs today.


A modern reconstruction of Capon Springs' bandstand.


Guests enjoy a hike on the Orange Trail, Capon Springs' newest hiking trail.