Chalybeate Springs Hotel

Chalybeate Springs was built near three mineral springs lining Dunning's Creek at its confluence with the Raystown Branch of the Juniata River. A brick gable-roofed farmhouse (c. 1851) of three by two bays was the first building on the property. In 1867, two businessmen, hoping to capitalize on the new connection to the Huntingdon and Broad Top Railroad, made a large addition to the northwest elevation of the original house to develop a spa. The two-story brick, gable-roofed addition consists of a series of rooms with doors and windows opening to verandas. Around 1885, a second large addition was made to the north elevation, creating a plan whose footprint resembles a modified T and adding forty-seven guest rooms, each with access to a veranda. In 1903, an annex with a ballroom was constructed northwest of the hotel. The annex is a two-story hipped-roof building with two-story verandas on all elevations. The hotel closed in 1913, and was used as a residence until 1946. After the war, it was used as a clinic and later converted to apartments. As a miniature version of nearby Bedford Springs ( BD16), Chalybeate Springs remains a small, nineteenth-century summer resort, self-contained and quiet, despite its proximity to the turnpike and the borough of Bedford. In the summer months, it offers camping facilities for trailers.