Est. 1864 · Oregon Medical History · Geothermal Energy Pioneer · Eastern Oregon Heritage · NRHP Listed Building · Pacific Northwest Resort History
The hot springs at Hot Lake have been known since the earliest European exploration of the Grande Ronde Valley. In 1864, California entrepreneur Samuel Fitzgerald Newhart built the first commercial structure at the site — a practical combination of post office, blacksmith shop, dance hall, and bathhouse that served the surrounding agricultural community.
The landmark transformation came in 1906, when architect John V. Bennes designed the 65,000-square-foot Colonial Revival brick addition that still stands today. This building established Hot Lake as a resort of national significance, notable for a specific engineering achievement: it was the first known commercial property in the world to use geothermal energy as its primary heat source. The thermal springs saved the operation approximately $15,000 annually in heating costs — a substantial figure for the era.
In 1917, Dr. W.T. Phy purchased the resort and transformed it into a medical facility he called Hot Lake Sanitorium. Under Phy's management, the facility staffed fifteen nurses, four physicians, an X-ray technician, and a bacteriologist — a professional density that earned it comparison to the Mayo Clinic. The Mayo brothers themselves were frequent visitors. Wild Bill Hickok is also cited in historical accounts as an early guest, though this attribution predates the sanatorium era and may conflate the resort's different periods.
On May 7, 1934, a fire destroyed the wooden west wing of the complex. The brick portion survived intact. Dr. Phy had died in 1931, and the facility operated intermittently after the fire under various purposes — a retirement home, a nurse training center during World War II — before gradually declining. The building was abandoned in 1991.
David Manuel purchased the deteriorated property in 2003 and began an extensive restoration. New owners acquired the property in 2020 and have continued the work, reopening the lodge with mineral soaking pools, a pub and eatery, and overnight lodging in renovated suites. The property currently operates as The Lodge at Hot Lake Springs.
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_Lake_Hotel
- https://hotlakespringsresort.com/
- https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-lodge-at-hot-lake-springs
- https://roadtrippers.com/magazine/hot-lake-springs-hotel-oregon/
ApparitionsPhantom soundsDisembodied screamingObject movementPhantom smellsResidual haunting
Hot Lake's paranormal accounts draw from multiple eras of the building's history, which gives them more variety than most single-incident haunted hotels.
The earliest figure is the gardener — a man who worked the resort in its first decades and took his own life on the property. Late-night visitors and guests over the years have reported seeing him: a figure working the grounds after dark, trimming hedges or tending plants, that disappears when approached or addressed directly.
The nurse account is more sensory than visual. A vacation guest at the resort reportedly fell into the hot lake — the natural thermal pool — and was scalded. The association between that death and auditory phenomena near the water has circulated long enough to become part of the site's established lore. Visitors and staff describe hearing screaming near the lake area.
The surgery wing is the most frequently cited location for concentrated activity. Caretakers and owners during the abandonment period reported crying and screaming coming from the former surgical space, audible in the quiet of an otherwise empty 65,000-square-foot structure. Rocking chairs in different areas of the building have been observed moving without mechanical explanation.
Phantom piano music attributed to the third floor has been reported across multiple decades. One version holds that the piano in question was once owned by Mary Anna Custis Lee, wife of Robert E. Lee — a claim that has circulated in accounts of the hotel but hasn't been confirmed through documented provenance.
The building appeared on ABC's The Scariest Places on Earth in 2001, during its abandoned period. Current owners have acknowledged the hotel's paranormal reputation while focusing promotional energy on its restoration and mineral spring facilities.
Notable Entities
The Gardener
Media Appearances
- The Scariest Places on Earth (ABC, 2001)
