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Archiver > LANIER > 2006-10 > 1160164910


From: "Don Dunnington" <>
Subject: Re: [LANIER] Sidney Lanier
Date: Fri, 6 Oct 2006 15:01:50 -0500
References: <262.11894894.3257a6d5@aol.com>


Hi to all,

Thanks Debra, there is some interesting info on the resort. And thanks
Glenda for bringing us up to date on the hotel ownership, etc.

The first web site below is interesting. I copied some of the info below.

HISTORIC RESORTS
http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/imagegallery.php?EntryID=R025#

The following copied from the above web site:

"Touted as the "Saratoga of the South," the hotel attracted a clientele of
southern planters and urban elites who sought to escape the malarial
lowlands during summer. Among the famous visitors were William G. Brownlow
and Sidney Lanier.

The Civil War completely disrupted life at Tennessee's spas. During the war,
some families sought refuge in their mountain retreats, but they were often
harassed by pro-Union mountaineers. After Union forces swept through
Beersheba Springs in July 1863, local mountain residents plundered the
cottages and hotel. At Montvale Springs, Unionist sentiment in Blount County
forced the Laniers, the pro-Confederate owners of the resort, to close the
hotel in 1863 and flee to Georgia, never to return."

Another web site has additional info---see below. I found it interesting
that
Clingman's Dome in Smoky Mountain National Park was named for
Thomas Lanier Clingman.

http://parkwayshopping.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=16&Itemid=2

The following copied from the above web site:

"It was because of this peaceful leisure that so many prominent families
came
during the years 1832 to 1933. Guests included politicians, diplomats and a
writer by the name of Sidney Lanier, whose first novel "Tiger Lilies" was
inspired by Montvale.

Watson sold the Montvale Spring Hotel to Sterling Lanier and Abraham Watt.
Sterling Lanier was Sidney Lanier's (author of "Tiger Lilies") grandfather.
Sidney Lanier was charmed by Montvale and wrote most of his book while he
stayed at Montvale. Guests of this period anxiously discussed the politics
of the time and debated the integrity of the Confederacy. When Tennessee
voted not to stay a part of the Confederacy, the Lanier's sold the property.

One of the most notable events of the Lanier's ownership was a visit by the
Swiss Geologist, Arnold Guyot, in 1859, who came to survey the southern
mountain country. Guyot enjoyed his stay so much that he named Clingman's
Dome in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park after Thomas Lanier
Clingman, a close Lanier relative and Mount LeConte was named after a dear
friend of the Lanier's, Joseph LeConte."

----- Original Message -----
From: <>
To: <>
Sent: Friday, October 06, 2006 7:32 AM
Subject: [LANIER] Sidney Lanier


> Was it Sidney grandparents or great grandparent that operated Montvale
> Spring Hotel in Blount Co,Tennessee?Does any one have pictures of any of
them that
> would share them with me?I would love to see what they looked like.
>
> Debra Maddox Wilson
> Greenback,Tn
>
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