Chico Hot Springs

The howling winds and the prediction of a snow storm moving in tonight makes me want to leave my desk behind and head to Chico Hot Springs to soak away my aches and pains and forget about the fact that winter seems to be here.  Not only is "Chico" the favorite hangout for relaxing in the hot water, it is a great historical site for those of us who like to mix in a little history with our recreation.  (It doesn't hurt that there is great food available.)

For more information about the history of Chico Hot Springs and to find out about the food and accomodations available visit their website: http://www.chicohotsprings.com/history.html

Chico Hot Springs was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999, nearly one hundred years after the hot springs hotel was built.  It's history goes back even further. 

Text of the National Register of Historic Places sign at Chico:

Chico Hot Springs (#1 Chico Road)

Generous verandas, period furnishings, and healing waters invite the visitor to experience turn-of-the-century hospitality under the shadow of Emigrant Peak. The hot springs, long appreciated by native peoples, got their commercial start during the territorial period when miners stopped by to bathe and “wash their duds.” In 1876, an inventive settler tapped into the 112 degree water, piping it under his greenhouse to grow vegetables for local residents. A hotel was planned in the 1880s, but in 1892, there were still no facilities and families camped nearby to enjoy the springs. Percie and Bill Knowles inherited the property in 1894. They ran a boardinghouse for miners and, in 1900, built the long-awaited hot springs hotel. Under Knowles’ active promotion, uniformed drivers ferried such guests as Teddy Roosevelt and artist Charlie Russell from the Emigrant depot to the springs. When Bill Knowles died in 1910, Percie and her son Radbourne transformed the luxurious hotel into a respected medical facility. Dr. George A. Townsend joined the staff in 1912 and under his direction, the hospital and healing waters gained renown throughout the northwest. After the 1940s, new owners and new directions included gambling and dude ranching. In 1976, Mike and Eve Art began recapturing the once-famous hotel’s turn-of the-century ambiance. Chico Hot Springs, with its Georgian-inspired architecture and warm Craftsman style interiors, is one of Montana’s best preserved examples of an early-twentieth-century hot springs hotel and health resort.

The Yellowstone Gateway Museum, Bill and Doris Whithorn Collection Online Database http://yellowstone.pastperfect-online.com/00052cgi/mweb.exe?request=ks
has several historic photos of Chico Hot Springs.