Bailey Springs…

was a resort for the well-to-do in the early days of the state. Our hometown area in the beautiful Tennessee Valley has a history rich in culture where our forefathers made the most of the natural resources that abound. Jonathan Bailey founded a natural springs and health resort in Lauderdale County in the 1820s. The location of what was known as Bailey Springs was five miles northeast of the city of Florence. Today the town of St. Florian is located nearby and a Bailey Springs Road still exists. Bailey Springs was in Section 10, Township 2, Range 10 west. By 1858 it was owned by A. G. Ellis & Co. The resort property had been acquired by several owners since Ellis held ownership. There was a women’s university at Bailey Springs  in the 1890s. It was named Bailey Springs University. As attested to  by the photo below that appeared in The Florence Times Sunday Morning edition of the newspaper on 24 August 1976 (page 41) the area promoted visitors to the ‘taking of the waters’ and recorded their visit by photos, many published in the local newspaper.

The Shoals area abounds in natural resources, fertile land, and strong people

One other documentation for the hotel and springs are the “Arrival Notices” that were published in the paper. This was excellent public relations for the area; they did an admirable job promoting the springs which promoted the area simultaneously. The Florence Gazette made a feature article out of the guests lists for Bailey Springs Resort. The Gazette published the arrival guests lists for two decades, the 1850s and the 1860s. The Arrivals at Bailey Springs for most of the month of May 1859 are listed below as they were published in the Florence Gazette in their Wednesday, June 1 1859 edition of the paper; they appeared on page 3. The names are given here just as they appeared in the Gazette. Local names that visited the resort include: Dr J T Hargraves, LM or TM Lewis, John R Price, Mrs Malony, John C Bliss, Miss A Howell, James Boddie, W H Key, S G Barr, Ed Brown, L Lorance, Mrs Coffee and daugher Kate, Dr J W Stewart, Dr. D S Beloate, W A Pettus, B F Foster Jr, H O Pettus, R D and James Martin, A Alexander, W A Key, James Boddie, B Nelson, J W Chisholm, R T Boroughs, Miss Mollie Karsner,  Tip Davis, and The. Allen Jones. South Florence was the name for what would become known as Sheffield. Some well-known and prosperous planters from Courtland, Lawrence County were also among the guests at the resort.

F Shoemake	Memphis
Mrs Shoemake	do
Mrs W B Donaho	do 4 children & 4 ser’vts
Col Sam’l W Evans & serv’t	Oxford Miss.
Mrs. Mary K Evans & serv’ts	Oxford Miss
Master Rob’t Evans	do
Dr M K [H]arrison	Aberdeen Miss.
O F Hames	Carroll Ten.
Wm B Wiggs	Memphis
Jno H Brinkley	do
James S Woodell	do
M P Asher	do
The. Allen Jones	Florence Ala.
J Coffee Simpson	do
Patrick McDonald	Memphis Tenn.
Jas Harrington	do
Jas F Hall	St Louis
Jas Brady & Wife	Memphis
Z J Carthel	Trenton Ten.
Rob’t Manning	Missouri
Geo TG White	NY
Mrs Paul Chandion? and servant	Mobile
E R Shapard	__ Tenn
T P Davidson	Memphis
Miss Davidson	do
James O Kerr	Miss
Miss LA Kerr	do
Tip Davis	Florence
Miss Mollie Karsner	do
Miss Fannie Fible	Louisville
Miss Mollie Dies	do
B F Karsner Jr	do
R T Boroughs	Florence
F S Furgeson	Tuskeegee Ala
Wm L Thompson	La
Geo R Anderson & servant	Athens Ala.
W C Prewitt	Madison Arkansas
Miss L Prewitt	do
Mrs W H Hunt	Memphis
J W Chisholm	County
B Nelson	do
L H Cole	Waterford Mis
W J Anderson	Helena ark
A C Horton and family	Memphis
J S McGehee	Como Mis
M F Gilchrist	do do
P P Gilchrist	Courtland Ala
W A Key	County
Jas S Boddie	do
D P Ludlow	New York
S T Kirby	Georgia
Mrs Kirby & serv’t	Ga.
James Buford	Miss
William Painter	Memphis
Miss Maggie Silver	do
J D Barnard	Huntsville
Mrs Barnard & serv’t	do
A McAlexander	Florence
MJ Gilchrist	do
Mrs E H Bourdmon	NY
Miss C F Bourdmon	do
M L Webb	Mississippi
C W Martin	[Pon]totoc do
Mrs Martin	do
Miss Doke & se’vt	do
Sam’l Adams	Memphis
Jas Martin	cypress fac’y
R D Martin	do do
H O Pettus	Florence
R C McCarly	do
S F Tate	do
D H Campbell	Courtland [A]la.
Col John L Moore	Memphis
B F Foster jr	Florence
Wm Morris	Memphis
Rob’t Dyas	N. Orleans
Miss M Dyas	do
Wm V Chardavoyne	Courtland Alabama
Mrs Chardavoyne	Courtland Alabama
B S Gibson	Madison ark
Thos Bufort and servant	Giles Tenn.
Giles H Reynolds and ser’vt	do
Master Reynolds	do do
George W Carroll	Tehula Mississippi.
R H Oglivie	Tenn.
Mrs. Ogilvie	do
W B Donaho	Memphis
Col J Branch’s two servants	Tenn
Thos M Jone’s 1 ser’vt
E B Hornbeak	Mem.
Mrs. Jas Fletcher ser’vt & 2 children	do
Mrs K Henderson	do
Thos Williams	ark
W A Pettus	waterloo ala
Dr. D S Beloate	county
Dr J W Stewart	do
Mrs Coffee	do
Miss Kate Coffee	do
W Wainright	miss
John Bell	Tenn
Miss S Bell & ser’vt	do
R N McVeigh	Phila’d
L Lorance	Florence
Ed Brown	do
S G Barr	do
Wood	Yeatman & Co’s servant
W H Key	County
James Boddie	do
Miss A Howell	do
John C Bliss	Florence
Mrs Malony	do
Thomas Taylor	do
Jno R Price	So Florence
L?M Lewis	Florence
Miss Shappard	Memphis
Dr H F Harris	McLemoresville Tenn
Jas Ackinson	do
John Burns	Memphis
Dr J T Hargraves and serv’t	Florence Ala
Geo Shall	Memphis
John B Fassitt	Phil’ado = abbreviation for ditto

Shoals Creek or Shoal Creek has always been picturesque and a favorite site for local residents for family gatherings and fun by the young citizens. The photo below shows a group enjoying recreation at Shoals Creek in Bailey Springs. The photo is vintage 1880-1889 and was photographed by Turner & Son, Florence and Gadsden, Alabama. It would be so nice to know the names of the people in the group; they likely have descendants who are still in the area. The photograph is housed in the digital archives of the State of Alabama at ADAH. The photo is entitled: Group at Shoal Creek in Bailey Springs, Alabama. 

A gathering of people relaxing on the banks of Shoals Creek in Bailey Springs, Lauderdale County, Alabama is photographed between 1880 and 1889

The particulars for the photo are outlined below:

Collection or Series Title	Alabama Dept. of Archives and History photographs collection – places vertical file
Box Number	Box 9
Folder Title	Lauderdale County, Bailey Springs, Shoal Creek

Bailey Springs is a very picturesque place, situated on the banks of Shoals Creek in Lauderdale County, Alabama. A demonstration of that sereness shows through in the photo from NARA below:

Serene living on Shoals Creek at Bailey Springs in Lauderdale County Alabama