The first inhabitants of Hot Sulphur Springs, Colorado were the Ute Amerindians, who used the springs much like later arrivals to the area. The Utes had a firm belief in the waters' healing qualities, often referring to them as "Big Medicine," and placed their winter hunting camps beneath the bluffs of Byers Canyon. The canyon containing today's Hot Sulphur Springs was named after William Byers, the first white man to arrive in the area (in 1840). Byers saw the economic potential of the spot, and acquired it with the aid of the US Cavalry and the courts.
The Hot Sulphur Springs Resort and Spa has been in continuous operation since the 1860s, and for four decades in the middle of the 20th
century was the most popular resort of its kind in the Rockies. It seems all things eventually come full circle: a Ute tribal spiritual
leader blessed the springs' waters at a 1997 re-opening ceremony after an extensive renovation.
Sources: city-data.com, hotsulphursprings.com |