The Abandoned Mississippi Resort That’s Been Slowly Deteriorating Since The 1960s
By Daniella DiRienzo|Published April 07, 2019
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Daniella DiRienzo
Author
Though Daniella was born in New York and has lived in a couple of other states, Mississippi has been her home for more than 30 years. After graduating from the University of Southern Mississippi, Daniella began to hone her writing skills through various internships. In the years since, she’s had the privilege of having her articles appear in several publications, such as the Mississippi-based Parents & Kids Magazine. She’s also had the honor of interviewing actress Sela Ward for The Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Experience.
As local travel experts, we know what travelers are looking for when it comes to finding the perfect accommodations for their next trip. To compile our lists, we scour the internet to find properties with excellent ratings and reviews, desirable amenities, nearby attractions, and that something special that makes a destination worthy of traveling for.
Over the decades, many places have come and gone in the Magnolia State – and Stafford Springs is one of those places. At one time it was a popular spa resort that attracted people from near and far. Eventually, it closed down and went on to serve as a motor lodge and dude ranch. Today, it sits abandoned, withering away. Take a look:
As of today, a few abandoned buildings in Vossburg, MS are all that remain of the Stafford Springs resort.
The resort was centered around an actual spring, which was discovered in the late 1800s by Captain Stafford, a Confederate officer. The spring was eventually named Stafford Springs in honor of the captain.
The water had naturally occurring minerals in it, so it was thought to have curative powers. The Choctaw Indians referred to the spring as "Bogohama," which means water of life.
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By 1902, Stafford Springs Hotel was opened near the spring. Dubbed a "health resort," people came from all over the world to bathe in and drink the water from the spring.
The water wasn’t only available to the resort’s visitors, though. Jugs of water from the spring were sold all over the country – as far away as New York and California.
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The resort was a success for a few decades; however, between the Great Depression and advances in modern medicine, people’s belief in the curative powers of spring water dwindled and, as a result, so did the resort's popularity.
In 1956, Stafford Springs Hotel was torn down. New owners purchased the property shortly after and converted the old resort into a motor lodge and dude ranch.
In addition to "year round air conditioning, room telephones, and super modern baths," the new Stafford Springs featured a restaurant and pool.
In the years that followed, the property was used for a car dealership and then divided for neighborhoods. Today, a few buildings are the only remnants of Stafford Springs.
