Children's Summer Resort, Castle Hot Springs Brochure

Published by Children's Summer Resort, Castle Rock Springs, CA, 1927

About this Item

Self proclaimed as the "Switzerland of American" the Children's Summer Resort was located in small lakeside town in Castle Hot Springs, CA. The children's resort was run by two boarding schools, Lona Hazzard School in Alameda, CA and Houdd Gibson School in Castle Hot Springs. The schools were both boarding schools for boys and girls from kindergarten to junior high school, in fact they were under the same management, a husband and wife team named Henry W. and Lona E. Hazzard. The advertisement for the resort is a 6 page, double sided, folded brochure that describes the grounds of the Gibson School, and the summer activities the children would participate in. The brochure starts off by stating that the land, Castle Hot Springs, was "fashioned by the Fairies of the Forest", and that this is "not a makeshift camp. [the buildings] are new and in an excellent state of sanitation, fitted with modern plumbing, electric lights, telephone, radio, etc." The flyer continues on to showcase the indoor swimming tank that was filled using the "natural hot and cold water" from the hot springs located nearby. Besides swimming, children could play on a newly installed playground, or play games of "whirl-o-ball, shuffleboard, croquet, tennis, etc." Ironically, that is all the activities mentioned for the children to partake in at this camp, though under the recommended clothing section, it does state that they should bring "hiking clothing". The children who attended this camp did not have to go to either of the two school but had to be of the same "type and character" of the students. The camp sessions where divided into two week sessions, with a total of five sessions throughout the summer which started on June 6th. It cost $25 for each child per two week session. Parents could also attended to 'visit' their children and could stay in separate cottages at the cost of $4 a day. Additionally, the flyer had a brief description of the two schools themselves, also with information on how to obtain a catalogue describing the two schools in more detail. The brochure contains six black and white printed photographs of the camp, two of Lona Hazzard School, and one map of the area. 6 pg., double sided, folded brochure. Printed by Daly-Seeger Company. Measures 6 1/2" x 3 1/2" (folded), 20 3/4" x 6 1/2" (unfolded). The town is actually an unincorporated community 3 miles south of Whispering Pines, CA, that has been known by several names over the years, such as Verdant Vales, Camp Houdd Gibson, Castle Springs, Mills Hot Springs, Noble's Springs, and currently Castle Rock Springs. The Lona Hazzard School was started in or around 1921, and in 1927 after a generous donation from C. W. Gibson, they opened the Houdd Gibson School, named for Gibson's son who died during WWI. The summer camp, which actually was also used as the grounds and buildings of the Houdd Gibson School during the rest of the year, appears to have been another business venture of the Hazzard's, in order to provide year around boarding for the children attending both schools It appears as though the Hazzard's only ran both this camp and and second school for a year before donating it to the Salvation Army by the summer of 1928, when it was then renamed the Houdd Gibson Camp. It operated then both as a summer camp for underprivileged boys and a resort for "opulent citizens" (presumably to help pay the bills) until a fire in 1944 burned down most of the buildings (Napa Journal Article, Sept. 15, 1944). As for the Lona Hazzard School, there is little to no record of it after 1932, and presumably it went out of business around then. Seller Inventory # 28001306

Bibliographic Details

Title: Children's Summer Resort, Castle Hot Springs...

Publisher: Children's Summer Resort, Castle Rock Springs, CA

Publication Date: 1927

Condition: General wear.