VINTAGE ALDEN VILLAGE
BLACK WATER BATHS 1869-1969
Centennial Plate - made by BUFFALO CHINA
Alden is a rural community in western New York, just east of Buffalo, the town of Alden became famous in 1891 due to the discovery of black mineral water, more often referred to as black water, a thick, rotten egg smelling water with supposed healing properties. The "Famous Original Black Water Baths" opened their “new modern bath house” that was "thoroughly equipped with every convenience for the treatment and comfort of our patients." In addition to the baths themselves it had sun parlors, sanitary drinking foundations, heated swimming pool, billiard room, tennis courts, steam and electricity.
They claimed that the black water helped mostly with rheumatic cases, and was "good for the stomach", liver and kidney issues, (unnamed) skin diseases, and nervousness. Apparently it was a "common occurrence to see people arrive in Alden on crutches, in wheel chairs, and on cots, and within a few days walk from the bath house to their boarding houses." The water itself was so heavy that one would "float like a cork" while taking a bath in it and the water left the "pores of the skin filled with pure salt".
Alden was presented as a resort, a get-away from the hectic, noisy city by Buffalo newspaper media. The curative effects of the black water were prescribed for many maladies including rheumatism, kidney troubles, skin disease, nervousness and that “run-down feeling.” In 1918 the Buffalo Times reported that “many thousands of baths have been given, curing an innumerable number of people”.
Advances in medical science, the travel ban of World War II and the lack of entertainment in the village brought about the demise of the Black Water Bath industry in the mid 1960s. The Empire Hotel was destroyed by fire in 1949 and never rebuilt, the Park Hotel was sold in 1965 and the buildings were demolished. The 1914 brick Original Bath House still stands and is still a place of healing—St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church.
Plate measures approx. 9-5/8" in diameter. Very good used condition, a few small chips/flaws on the back.
LOC: BS-10
VINTAGE ALDEN VILLAGE
BLACK WATER BATHS 1869-1969
Centennial Plate - made by BUFFALO CHINA
Alden is a rural community in western New York, just east of Buffalo, the town of Alden became famous in 1891 due to the discovery of black mineral water, more often referred to as black water, a thick, rotten egg smelling water with supposed healing properties. The "Famous Original Black Water Baths" opened their “new modern bath house” that was "thoroughly equipped with every convenience for the treatment and comfort of our patients." In addition to the baths themselves it had sun parlors, sanitary drinking foundations, heated swimming pool, billiard room, tennis courts, steam and electricity.
They claimed that the black water helped mostly with rheumatic cases, and was "good for the stomach", liver and kidney issues, (unnamed) skin diseases, and nervousness. Apparently it was a "common occurrence to see people arrive in Alden on crutches, in wheel chairs, and on cots, and within a few days walk from the bath house to their boarding houses." The water itself was so heavy that one would "float like a cork" while taking a bath in it and the water left the "pores of the skin filled with pure salt".
Alden was presented as a resort, a get-away from the hectic, noisy city by Buffalo newspaper media. The curative effects of the black water were prescribed for many maladies including rheumatism, kidney troubles, skin disease, nervousness and that “run-down feeling.” In 1918 the Buffalo Times reported that “many thousands of baths have been given, curing an innumerable number of people”.
Advances in medical science, the travel ban of World War II and the lack of entertainment in the village brought about the demise of the Black Water Bath industry in the mid 1960s. The Empire Hotel was destroyed by fire in 1949 and never rebuilt, the Park Hotel was sold in 1965 and the buildings were demolished. The 1914 brick Original Bath House still stands and is still a place of healing—St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church.
Plate measures approx. 9-5/8" in diameter. Very good used condition, a few small chips/flaws on the back.
LOC: BS-1
