The hotel was destroyed by fire early in November 1909. According to a contemporary source, “the conflagration begun about 5 p.m., and in a short while the entire building and contents with one of the cottages, were destroyed. No one knows how the fire started. Mr. H.F. Koonce, the lessee, was at the barn when his wife called him, saying the hotel was on fire. It was first discovered by Mrs. Koonce who found a blaze in the office.”81 Getzendanner had $5,000 worth of insurance on the hotel and an additional $1,000 on the furniture. Virginia Koonce Cosy was of the opinion that the fire had started in the rafters on the basement floor. She also believed that both the hotel fire and the blaze which levelled the farm house at Shannondale a few weeks later were of suspicious origin. The hotel fire was so intense that even possessions placed nearby on the lawn were consumed. A spoon with “Shannondale Springs” stamped on the handle was rescued from the ashes and was in her possession when she was interviewed by the author.82

Despite the fire, the ferry continued to operate and visitors continued to frequent the Springs for picnics and religious retreats. A.M.S. Morgan III clearly remembered the ferryboat that would transport you across the river for a nickle or bring your buggy over for a quarter. For several summers the grounds were occupied by a group of young men from Washington, D.C., studying to be Catholic priests. They erected tents on the site and had their own mess hall. Recalling one of those trips on the ferry with the Captain, Morgan said:

We ride toward the famous Spring and the outlines of the race track and golf course still show, but the large hotel which burnt down is only a pile of ashes. The big Spring is still intact. It is enclosed in a circular concrete wall about four feet in diameter, and there is a roof overhead. The water tastes fine and is slightly laxative. Much in demand in Charles Town, it is delivered in 5 gallon glass jars encased in a wooden crate. Nearby is the smaller Sulphur Spring which tastes awful and smells like rotten eggs. Back of the burned out hotel is a long row of stone buildings where the help used to live, and untouched by the fire, one end of the building is occupied by the tenant and we used to come down weekends and “camp” in the other end.83

On October 1, 1919, Henry C. Getzendanner and his wife Anna sold the resort property and the adjacent farm to E.B. Frye for $500. Frye grazed cattle on the land, attempted to raise sugar beets, and continued to make what was left of the resort available to friends.84 Within a few years, the new owner encountered serious financial problems. In 1923, he mortgaged the property to pay the outstanding debts. Of the twelve new cases reported on the local chancery docket for April 1924, four involved E.B. Fry as defendant. The charges alledged that he had transferred the Shannondale Springs farm to his wife last fall to the detriment of his creditors.85

The same year, C. L. Crane attempted to create enough interest in Shannondale Springs to form a country club. In a prospectus entitled “Outline of Plan for the Organization and Development of Shenandoah Country Estate and Colonial Country Club at Shannondale Springs,” he proposed erecting an elegant stone clubhouse and selling club memberships that included 50" by 100" lots (Figure 22). Memberships were set at $200 and could be paid on the installment plan. Designed for “those of limited means and who, through force of circumstances, are unable to pay the high cost of membership in the existing Country Clubs,” the facility was to include extensive recreational facilities for all members. There is no evidence that the plan went much further than the prospectus. Despite their financial hardships, the Fryes managed to hold on to the property for more than a decade, and in August 1931 they gave C. L. Crane a lease on the Springs’ resources. The lease to Crane included:

the three medicinal Springs known as Shannondale Springs, located in Jefferson County West Virginia for the term of thirty years (30) ensuing, upon the following terms. All water sold from these springs by the party of the second part to be paid for at the end of each Calendar Month at the rate of one cent per gallon. All water given away by the party of the second part to advertise Shannondale Springs and the Shannondale Properties not to be paid for by the party of the second part. 32

The party of the second part to have ingress and egress to and from the Springs over the lands of the parties of the first part to haul water, and to have the use of the one brick cottage that is located near the Shannondale Springs, also the use of enough land around the Springs to prepare the waters for market.

The parties of the first part give to the party of the second part the right to put in a ferry boat at the old Shannondale Ferry boat landing and to use the same and also have the sole use of the Ferry boat and landing and also have use of any Ferry boat equipment that may be there such as cable and other things.86

A flyer published in 1931 (probably by Crane) advertised the Shannondale Springs water for $1 per five-gallon bottle. The author claimed it was beneficial for high blood pressure, rheumatism, “auto intoxication,” kidney conditions, tuberculosis, eszema, acne, neuresthenia, and constipation.87 Representatives from the West Virginia Geological Survey, visiting the property in 1936, noted that “At present, only the remains of Presidents’ Row give hint of the former size of the resort.... Mrs. Chas. L. Crane, of Charles Town, W. Va., the present lessee of the property, states that these buildings were all destroyed by fire, but could give no definite date.” Commenting on the condition of the mineral springs, they noted that the “Blue (or Black) Spring was not adequately protected,” and at the Red Spring “Rain water had backed up and polluted [it]... each time it was visited... Not protected, and very dirty.” For the largest (White Sulphur Spring), “A wooden canopy and curbing, both in poor condition, shelter and protect this spring.”88

Starting in 1937, Thornton T. Perry, Sr., began acquiring portions on the original Shannondale Springs tract, including the resort property.89 33

Figure 22. Cover for prospectus of Shenandoah Country Estate and Colonial Country Club. Courtesy of the Jefferson County Museum.