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Sharon Springs, New York: Sulphur Temple - Healing Waters (Gone)

Dip the special spoon into the smelly water and drink deep -- you should feel better soon. This old spa town has many decrepit healing hotel and spring remnants to admire.

Directions:
North edge of town, west side of Hwy 10/Main St. just south of Pavilion Ave.
Status:
Gone

Visitor Tips and News About Sulphur Temple - Healing Waters

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Sulphur Temple - Healing Waters

This is no longer accessible. There are posted signs saying it's on private property and to keep out. You can see some structures from the road, but that's about it.

[Amber, 08/27/2020]

Magnesium spring.

Sharon Springs

An apocalyptic wonderland only a few hours from NYC. The bathhouse and the hotel are in ruins. Most of the springs are on private property and have No Trespassing signs on them, although they can be viewed from the road. The one spring the public can visit has been cemented over. The town features a walking tour which has placards telling you what used to be on all the vacant lots. The air smells of sulfur. There are a few hotels still open and one is for sale. Visit before the whole place crumbles away.

[Bill La Civita, 06/11/2013]

Sulfurous spring water was once prized for its healing powers, although its long-term effect on bath houses and hotels is maybe not as curative.

Sulphur Temple - Healing Waters

We took a road trip to Sharon Springs, where my friend grew up. It's a small town in between Albany and Cooperstown that used to be a wildly popular tourist destination for its purifying sulphur springs. Today, it's a little run down, but you can see a lot of the amazing old hotels and bathhouses from its heyday. While exploring the town, my friend took us to the Sulphur Temple. It's a domed structure that houses a well of sulphur water. Above the well is a giant spoon you can use to dip in and pull yourself out a drink. Supposedly a drink of the water has healing powers.

We did it, and the water smelled awful and tasted like onions. But still, pretty cool if we became healthy from it. I just want to know how many people drank from that spoon...

[Marc Dworkin, 07/09/2006]

The White Sulphur Temple was built in 1927, replacing an original wooden version.


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