Welcome To
The Friends Of Shannondale Springsor FOSS
(a West Virginia 501c3 nonprofit corporation)


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FOSS, or The Friends of Shannondale Springs, was born from the idea of Bill Hartgroves, a dedicated and concerned conservationist and citizen, who perceived the need to preserve the historic site of the once world renowned spa and resort. The group was organized in the early 1990's and was comprised of folks with the same ideals as Bill's.

The organization was a loose knit crowd of volunteers working with various County and State agencies to put the brakes on the Shannondale Springs(SS) slide into obscurity. To this end the FOSS members toiled to raise the funds( a considerable amount) to stabilize the conditions of the ruins extant on the property, obtain recognition of SS as a National Historic Site by inclusion on the registry of that same name, and to restore the only structure still standing at the site.

Foss was assisted by the Jefferson County Historic Landmarks Commission(JCHLC), the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources(DNR), other Federal and State agencies and by private individuals prompted by a love of our County's history.

Wowser, what a Herculean task to undertake! In spite of the many obstacles facing FOSS, they succeeded! The resort's impending disappearance from memory was thwarted and the short range goals of FOSS were realized. However(and isn't there always a "However"?), much remains to be done to preserve and maintain the National treasure located right here on the Blue Ridge Mountain in Jefferson County, our backyard!
After FOSS' immediate targets were met, interest flagged(as often happens) and the group became inactive. We(Shannondale and Beyond) are reactivating FOSS to continue its work in the interest of SS. To that end we have asked and received the "blessing" of the JCHLC and have been guaranteed the cooperation of the DNR. We are also calling on all the present members of FOSS, who have worked so diligently in the past to reach the level of success that was attained, to join us "new guys" in the effort!!!( After all, you guys did all the REALLY HEAVY lifting!!!)

We're going to divide our presentation of the renown Springs into several sections including; the work done by FOSS members over the years, a power point presentation you may click thru to give an overview of the Springs, and a short presentation of a Department of Natural Resources pamphlet about the Wildlife management area in which the Springs is located. And. of course, a slide show of a much more complete account of Shannondale Springs and a few added links to some miscellaneous tidbits.

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