Eighteen miles southwest of Orleans, on the O. W. B. &
F. L. branch of the Monon Railway we find this thriving, hustling little town,
of about 250 inhabitants. The town derives its name from the West Baden Springs
which are found here in close proximity to the town. It is situated on a
hillside facing the west and extends down to the level plain that lies between
the two hills, and through which French Lick Creek threads it sinuous way on
its journey to its junction with Lost River. The railroad runs at the base of
the hill and the depot is close to the business of the town. Bit a few short
years ago West Baden consisted of two or three dilapidated old houses, one of
which was used for a storeroom while the upstairs part was used as a dwelling.
This building is still standing, but has been remodeled and so changed that its
former occupants would not recognize it. In those days visitors to the Springs
were hauled back and forth in hacks from Orleans, Mitchell and Shoals. Then the
hotels at the Springs would have been taxed to their utmost to take care of a
hundred people. Persons who have not seen West Baden in ten years would be
amazed at the changes that has been made. The hillside that was formerly turned
over to the cattle and hogs for pasture is now dotted with beautiful cottages
and peopled with the best people our land affords. Where there was formerly but
one store carrying a few dollars worth of staple goods, a few bottles of patent
medicine, such as Hosteller's Bitters, Ayer's Ague Cure, &c., we now find a
half dozen large and commodious business houses, one of the largest retail
stores in the county, two drugstores, three saloons, one restaurant,
first-class in all its appointments, one large flouring mill and three large
and elegantly equipped hotels. At the Springs where the hotel accommodations
were very scant, we now find a hotel that can accommodate a thousand or twelve
hundred people. A mammoth structure lighted by electricity and heated by steam
throughout.
While all this change has been of
the mushroom style yet it is lastling. The town is still booming and will
continue to boom. There are no inflated values on town property; everything is of
a substantial nature. The inhabitants are thrifty and enterprising, and are
imbued with that spirit that makes success out of apparent failures, and wins
where losses looked certain. There are no laggards in West Baden; everybody
seems to be huslting to keep out of each others way, and all looking for the
same goal - a competence of this world's goods, yet with all this they are
happy and contented, and no more hospitable people live in Indiana than are
found in West Baden, Among the many places of business and points of interest
around West Baden and leading professional and business men a few will be
mentioned in this issue.
JULIUS MILLER
West Baden Sample Room. Fine Wine and Liquors
It used to be the case that West
Baden had no saloon and the popular idea was that a saloon would be a losing
venture in that place owing to the antagonistic effect to alcohol that the
water exercised on a man's system, but with the advent of new business and the
upbuilding of the place, the saloons come, and they doubtless come to stay.
Where there used to be no saloons there are now three and enjoy a fair trade.
Among these perhaps the most popular of all is the gentlemen whose name heads
this article, the popular proprietor of the West Baden Saloon. Mr. Miller is of
German descent and is a practical barkeeper, having become acquainted with the
business during his connection with Mat Klarer, proprietor of one of the most
popular saloons in New Albany, where Mr. Miller was barkeeper for a number of
years. He has a cozy little room, neatly papered and furnished with all the
requirements of a first-class bar, and is deservedly popular with all classes
of people. He is thoroughly acquainted with the desires of his customers and
nothing but the choicest brands of whiskey and wines find a place on his bar.
The celebrated Anheuser-Busch beer is sold here and its name is a synonym for
purity and excellence. The quiet orderly house kept by Mr. Miller makes it a
pleasant place to refresh the inner man and you can always rely on getting the
best in town.
Mt. Arie Observatory
Starting from West Baden and
following the wagon road westward as it climbs the steep mountain side, a mile
and a quarter away you find Mt. Arie, the second highest point of land in the
State and more than five hundred feet higher than the valley at West Baden.
Here but a few years ago was a dense forest, inhabited by wild animals and
rattlesnakes, and was the hiding place of a band of outlaws that inhabited this
section of country. Here on the summit of the mountain the body of Mart Archer
was found where he had been cruelly murdered one evening in '82, and the
foundation of the feud that resulted so disastrously to both sides was laid. No
one ever thought of using this lace for any practical purpose and the dense
undergrowth and the denizens of the forest held undisputed possession.
But change was coming. Ed. F. Buerk,
an Orange County boy, with his native wit and genius polished up by years of
travel, saw the place and an opening for an investment. Out of his ideas grew
Mt. Arie Observatory, a mammoth structure eight stories high, towering above
the monarchs of the forest and visible from almost every quarter of our
country. An easy stairway runs to the top where the pavilion is enclosed with a
balustrade and where you can get a breath of pure mountain air, that will amply
repay you for climbing to its dizzy heights.
On the ground floor you find the
Sample Room, where cold German lunches are served in a manner that betrays the
Southern school of hospitality. In his management of the place Mr. Buerk is
ably assisted by his wife, a courteous and affable little lady whose
hospitality is, if possible, even warmer that her husband's. Mr. Buerk is a
capital entertainer, and to this trait more than any other a large amount of
his success is due. Guest who have visited West Baden for years will visit
Buerk of for no other purpose than to enjoy for a few moments the cordial
welcome always extended to his friends.
DR. JOHN A. RITTER, JR.
Drugs and Medicines
A sketch of West Baden's business
and business men would be incomplete without mentioning the name of Dr. John A.
Ritter, Jr., who has grown up with West Baden and who has done more towards the
upbuilding of the town than anyone now living there.Although just in the prime
of life he has been connected with its business interests for a decade and has
watched and participated in its growth from a mere country postoffice to a
thriving little town that in ten years has become famous as a watering place
and is visited by thousands of visitors each year, from every quarter of the
globe. He began business twenty years ago with a small stock of drugs and has
been so successful that he has been compelled to erect new buildings to make
room for his constantly increasing trade. His present place of business is in a
large two story frame fronting the railroad where he has the nicest and fullest
equipped drugstore in our county. The Dr. is a graduate of the Louisville
Medical College, and ranks among the leading practitioners of our county. He
thoroughly understands the use of the Mineral Waters, having been for eighteen
years the physician at the Springs and has lately perfected a process by which
the waters of the various Springs can be solidified and compressed into
tablets. These are known as the
WEST BADEN MINERAL SPRINGS TABLETS
and are being placed on the market new. They have only been
manufactured about two months, but the business has grown so that they find it
impossible to manufacture them fast enough to supply the demand. Orders are
pouring in from all parts of the country and the prospects for the future are
very flattering. The Tablets wherever they have been used give entire
satisfaction and will eventually take the place of the water which must need be
bottled and shipped making it more expensive, and less satisfactory to the
invalid who finds in the Tablets all the ingredients to be found in the Spring
water and retaining all the gases which must necessarily escape from the water
in shipping. The Tablet Company, of which Dr. Ritter is the leading spirit,
have about perfected arrangements by which the Tablets will be extensively
advertised next season and no delays in shipping goods will be experienced. In
addition to his other business Dr. Ritter owns and operated the
RITTER HOUSE
a large and commodious hotel, handsomely furnished
throughout, where those who are not able to enjoy the luxuries of the West
Baden Hotel can find a comfortable boarding house at less expensive rates. The
hotel is under the direct supervision of Mrs. Ritter, whose accomplishments as
a hostess have added largely to the wholesome hospitality of the house. The
service is of the best, the rooms clean and airy and the air of real genuine
home-like comfort that pervades the place makes it a really desirable place to
step. The Dr. also dabbles in real estate and lumber and has some valuable town
lots for sale. In fact if you are looking for a trade just drop in and see him and
you can get what you want.
Besides the above named places we find
THE BURTON HOUSE
a hotel that in its appointments compares favorably with any
hotel in this country, presided over by Adam Burton and his estimable wife, who
have made the Burton House justly popular, so much so that it has been crowded
during the entire season.
CAPLINGER'S RESTURANT
Where you can find all the
delicacies of a city market. This place is owned and operated by T. E.
Caplinger, of Paoli, who is a thorough restaurateur and enjoys a fair trade.
FAULKNER HOUSE
This hotel has the distinction of
being operated by a colored lady and is strictly first-class all through. Mrs.
Faulkner is a fine cook and her guest are treated to the finest the market
affords.
No. 8 Fine Wines and Liquors - Ed Ballard
About two years ago John W. Felknor
purchased from George W. Campbell the large two story framed building fronting
the railroad directly across the track from the depot and applied for license
to retail liquor. He placed in charge of the place the above named gentleman
who, by his genial manner and his courteous treatment of his guest, soon made
the saloon the popular resort for those bibulously inclined. Mr. Ballard is a
young man raised in and around West Baden and s a practical saloon keeper. He
is genial, courteous and big-hearted and his pocketbook is always open to
appeals for charity. He is universally like by the people among whom he was raised
and is deservedly popular with the guest. The name of his place, No. 8, was
given to his place by James E. Callahan, of the firm of Callahan & Co.,
Book Publishers, of Chicago, who is a staunch friend of Mr. Ballard's and who
never fails to visit him when on his trips to West Baden. Ed's friends are
numbers by his acquaintances and he possesses that peculiar faculty of never
forgetting a face. He will remove his place next Spring three doors south to a
new building that will be erected this winter where he will be found next
season, at home to all his old friends, with the finest line of liquors to be
found in West Baden.
|