Milpitas Historical Society.org

The Gilroy Hot Springs presentation is scheduled for the Historical Society’s next  meeting on Wed. Sept. 8, 2010 at 7 pm in the Milpitas Library Community Room, N. Main Street.

In a corner of Santa Clara Valley there exists an exceptional historical site that very few know anything about and one that far fewer have ever visited.

Located in the eastern foothills at about 2000 ft. elevation above Gilroy at the far end of a canyon sits the 150 year old resort of Gilroy Hot Springs.

The resort first began in approximately 1860 receiving visitors including California’s elite.

The resort was widely known for it’s recreation and curative powers.

Early advertising cite the ability to leave S.F. by train in the morning and having taken a special livery from the Gilroy train station arrive on site by afternoon.

In it’s heyday the resort is known to have entertained 500+ guests as well as the staff and their families who lived on-site.

Although the hotel and sleeping annex burned down in the late 1900′s their still exists a small town of cabins, barn, and resort facilities.

In the latter years of the sites operations in the late 1900′s the site was home to app. 60 post-internment camp Japanese-American families.

Currently, due to the extremely fragile state of the site access to this historical monument is limited to guided tours offered by the Friends of Gilroy Hot Springs.

Two members of the Friends of Gilroy Hot Springs will be presenting a narrated slide show as well as a display of artifacts to members of the Milpitas Historical Society as well as  members of the general public.

Filed under: Events and tagged Gilroy, historical resort, hot springs, Santa Clara