The Blue Cast Magnetic Springs. — Allen county is to be considered greatly favored in the prestige given by the Blue Cast Magnetic Springs and Sanitarium, which give to the county a reputation for the best of natural and properly amplified facilities for the successful treatment of many of the ills to which human flesh is heir. As the wonderful remedial powers of the waters of the Blue Cast Springs become better and more widely known, in the same ratio is the popularity of the fine sanitarium that has been provided in connection with the same to become more and more one of the leading health meccas of the middle west. No other springs in Indiana can claim waters of greater and more assured medicinal value than those of the Blue Cast Magnetic Springs, and to the splendidly equipped sanitarium are drawn each year greater numbers of health-seekers whose faith in the institution is virtually to be assured through beneficial results. In a publication of this order it is impossible to enter into details concerning the analysis of the Blue Cast waters or the manifold attractions of the sanitarium and its beautiful park, for all these matters are adequately described in the literature sent forth by the institution itself and available to all who make application for the same, but as the developing company has made the institution one of the really great health resorts of Indiana and one that contributes in many ways to the precedence of Allen county, it is but due that a brief review be incorporated in this history of the county. To accomplish this end most consistently the following quotations are taken from an attract- ive brochure issued by the Blue Cast Magnetic Springs Company : ' ' Blue Cast Magnetic Springs and Sanitarium are located in beautiful Blue Cast Park, two miles north of Woodburn, Indiana. Woodburn is on the main line of the Wabash Railroad, seventy-five miles from Toledo, Ohio, and fifteen miles from Fort Wayne, Indiana. Direct connections are, therefore, possible with all railroad and interurban lines running into these two traffic centers. Blue Cast Park is on the Maumee river, con- sists of eighty-five acres, half of which is a fine grove, fronting for over
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a half mile on the beautiful Maumee river. High banks, splendid scenic views, good boating and fishing, afford most desirable sport and recre- ation. Blue Cast Magnetic Springs have long been known to residents of the surrounding country, who have enjoyed refreshment and kept in health for many years by partaking of this natural tonic from the crude springs. Now the healthful and invigorating properties of Blue Cast magnetic spring water have become available for the multitudes of sick and ailing and those desirous of continued well being. The name Blue Cast is derived from the very slight bluish tint which distinguishes the water. Another part of the name. Magnetic, is derived from the fact that the water has been endowed by Nature with a peculiar magnetic force rarely found in any mineral water of any kind, the world over. Iron or steel when immersed in this water will become magnetized. This wonderful invigorating force is imparted to those who bathe in Blue Cast water, exerting a powerful tonic and metabolic influence on the cell life of the body. The speedy and popular endorsement of these curative and tonical waters is amply justified by the searching analysis of their properties which has been made by well-known and authoritative chemists. The official analysis establishes beyond a doubt that Blue Cast Magnetic Spring water not only possesses refreshing and exhilar- ating qualities, but is Nature's own remedy for many common and chronic ailments." The water is further attractive as a high-grade table beverage, and in connection with the sanitarium has provided a bottling department with the best modern facilities, so that the product may readily be shipped to all parts of the country without the slightest deterioration,. From an auhoritative analysis and incidental report made by a leading chemist are taken the following statements: "This is a very fine water for internal medication and is adapted to a wide range of medical uses: the magnesium carbonate is especially good in all stomach disorders and its sulphate acts mildly on the bowels, while the potassium salts aid all the eliminative organs and act as alteratives." Of Blue Cast Sani- tarium the following brief description has been given: "The building is a modern, fire-proof, steel and concrete structure, steam heated, electric lighted, with hot and cold Blue Cast Magnetic Spring water in every room. No expense has been spared to carry to the extreme in this sani- tarium all the purposes for which it has been constructed, — the comforts of home, rest, recreation and the renewal of the health of patients." The bath facilities are of the best modern type and make provision for the use when expedient of the wonderful magnetic mud that has been impreg- nated by the springs. An efficient medical staff is maintained in con- nection with the institution, and there are few health resorts in the United States that can offer greater attractions for recreation and health- building. For full information concerning the institution application should be made to the general manager, George A. Hogue, who is treas- urer of the Blue Cast Company and who has been the dominant force in the development of this splendid health resort. George A. Hogue was born at Akron, Summit county, Ohio, on January 17, 1875, and is a son of Albert and Samantha (Rollins) Hogue, both likewise natives of the old Buckeye state, the father having been long employed as an expert machinist in the old Buckeye mower and reaper works at Akron. George A. Hogue is indebted to the educational institutions of his native state for his early scholastic training, and as a youth he became associated with contracting work in railway construction. He initiated his activ-
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ities along this line in 1892 and eventually became an independent and successful contractor. He obtained and completed the contract for the construction of the line of the Ohio Electric Railway from Lima, Ohio, to Fort Wayne, and had the supervision of all construction work in that connection except the building of the sub-stations. Within his active career as a contractor he built six hundred miles of electric railway — principally in Ohio, Illinois and Indiana. He thus developed to the full his admirable initiative and administrative powers, and when, in 1912, he identified himself with the development and exploiting of the Blue Cast Magnetic Mineral Springs he came to the work splendidly equipped. He effected the organization of the Blue Cast Company, which purchased the land and erected the fine sanitarium now conducted under his direct and effective management, and while the company had the best of medium through which to justify such exploitation it has been in large measure due to the earnest and well-ordered efforts of Mr. Hogue that this fine Allen county institution has been brought before the people of the country and the success of the enterprise made cumulative in character. In politics he is a Republican, and in his civic attitude he is characteristically loyal,' progressive and public-spirited. In 1898 he wedded Miss Lua Harrison, daughter of J. B. and Carrie Harrison, of Cleveland, Ohio, and the two children of this union are Earl Harrison Hogue and Bonita Goldie Hogue, the son being now a cadet student in Pillsbury Military Academy, in the state of Minnesota.
Blue Cast Nature Preserve an 87 acre property became the 5,000th acre of nature preserved by ACRES Land Trust December 27, 2012. It contains deep ravines, over 3,000 feet of frontage along the Maumee River, a heronry - a large group of active blue heron nests - and a mature forest. Several springs on the property have water with a blue cast that was so popular in 1902-1905 it was bottled and sold throughout the United States for "magnetic, invigorating and curative powers." A luxurous health spa located on the property in 1913 to capitalize on the water's popularity and scenic beauty. Information from a December 2012 ACRES Land Trust letter.
#AllenCoApril Which Allen County town became a destination as a health resort?
Henry Schnelker established the Blue Cast Mineral Springs in Woodburn, Allen County in 1901. Spread across 84 acres, pumps produced more than 100 cases of water per day that supposedly had healing properties. AC Hugue bought the business in 1912 and expanded it to include a sanitarium. The Blue Cast Sanitarium, opened in 1913, featured mud baths and beautiful gardens patients could tour with visitors. The Sanitarium advertised itself as an ideal place to heal kidney and stomach troubles, lumbago, neuralgia, and rheumatism, with physicians on staff to provide individualized treatment. The sanitarium thrived in the late 1910s and early 1920s, but ultimately failed in the 1930s during the Great Depression.
ACRES trust adding 2 preserves in region 130 combined acres are near Woodburn and east of Angola March 13, 2013 by Vivian Sade of Journal Gazette no longer online. Two environmentally significant properties in northeast Indiana have been added to the state’s oldest and largest land trust, officials of a land trust company said. ... Blue Cast Springs includes 87 acres of upland forest, floodplain, ravines and 30-foot bluffs overlooking about 3,000 feet of Maumee River frontage, just north of Woodburn.
Blue Cast Magnetic Springs And Preserve April 30, 2022 Mike Fromholt on YouTube.
In this video, I explore the site of the 1913 sanitarium, Blue Cast Magnetic Springs, and the spring itself, as well as the mud sulfer spring. There are also short clips of the early spring woodland wildflowers that were in bloom during the visits I made to the preserve. The preserve itself is located near Woodburn, Indiana in Allen County, and is owned and managed by ACRES Land Trust, a land preservation organization located in northeastern Indiana. It was acquired by ACRES in 2012 and contains 87 acres, woth more than half being forested. It also borders the Maumee River, which gives one the chance to see waterfowl, Great Blue Herons and Bald Eagles. There also is an archeoligical site on the property, which is shown and talked about in the video. Here's a link to the Blue Cast Spring history: https://acreslandtrust.org/blue-cast-....
Located along the banks of the Maumee River, Blue Cast Springs has several ravines running through the upland oak and hickory forest that feed into the river. Bluffs 30 feet high offer vistas of the river and one of its islands.
This property was the site of a natural spring once thought to have healthful properties. In 1901, New Haven businessman Henry F. Schnelker purchased the land where he bottled and sold spring water and aspired to open a sanitarium. Although later owners realized his dream, the enterprise was short-lived. Financial troubles closed the sanitarium by the 1920s, and it later fell into disrepair. Today, visitors can still see the building’s foundation.
In 2012, this 88-acre property became permanently protected by ACRES. This brought the total number of acres protected by our organization at the time to over 5,000 acres.
What does momentum look like? It took 52 years for ACRES to protect the first 5,000 acres. Twelve years later, and we're just shy of 8,000 acres.
This is the kind of impact that you can have in your community through your local land trust!
I visit this preserve often, it's fairly close to home. On this day, the last day of April 2024, the preserve was VERY wet. The rains from the night before set the record for the wettest April since record keeping at 7.39 inches. There is an island in the river and when it's dryer out you can walk out to it. The website says that the trail is only 1 mile but it's actually farther as the trail to the West extends out to where the island is. From the ACRES website: Located along the banks of the Maumee River, Blue Cast Springs is in an area with a rich history of Native American settlement. Several ravines running through the upland forest feed into the river. Bluffs 30 feet high offer vistas of the river and one of its islands. Large trees along the riverbank are home to an active blue heron rookery. This property was the site of a natural spring once thought to have healthful properties. In 1901, New Haven businessman Henry F. Schnelker purchased the land where he bottled and sold spring water and aspired to open a sanitarium. Although later owners realized his dream, the enterprise was short-lived. Financial troubles closed the sanitarium by the 1920s, and it later fell into disrepair. Today visitors can still see the building’s foundation. For more information please visit: Blue Cast Springs
