In southern Indiana, recent events have propelled a former 10 Most Endangered entry back into the spotlight. The Mineral Springs Hotel is one of the most architecturally distinctive buildings on Paoli’s courthouse square, but damage from spring storms has heightened the need for urgent action to secure the structure and identify a plan for its future.
Hoping to boost local tourism and compete with nearby resorts at French Lick and West Baden Springs, a group of local businessmen constructed the Mineral Springs Hotel in 1895. At a time when the town had no electricity, the hotel offered the luxury of electric lighting in each room, courtesy of a steam-powered generator in the basement, and guests could bathe in local mineral waters from a well piped directly into the hotel.
With an opera house in the lobby, a billiard hall, ballroom, bowling alleys, and even a Greyhound bus stop, Mineral Springs served as the community’s social and recreational center for decades. The hotel closed in 1958, though various businesses continued to occupy its ground floor until recent years.
More recently, the vacant hotel has been taking on water through a leaky roof and broken windows. In March 2025, strong storms blew a temporary roof off the building, and heavy rain soaked the upper floors, accelerating the decline.
Reviving the Mineral Springs Hotel could be the catalyst for rejuvenating an entire courthouse square, but it needs someone with the creative vision and financial resources to give it new use.
Greg Sekula
Director
Indiana Landmarks Southern Regional Office
812-284-4534
gsekula@indianalandmarks.org
Terry Cornwell and Brenda Cornwell
Saving Historic Orange County
812-797-3311
plantsnobin@frontier.com
