Back in 1913, an Illinois doctor named C.H. Diehl bought Welch Spring for eight hundred dollars. Dr Diehl believed that the spring water had healing properties and that cool, pollen free air coming from the adjacent cave would be beneficial for people with asthma, emphysema, and tuberculosis, which together were called "consumption" at the time. He said that it worked for him, helping him with a chronic case of hayfever. To tap this clean air resource, Dr Diehl built a hospital over the mouth of the cave. Welch Spring, which flowed from the cave, was dammed up so that water would close off the entrance. This was to force more air out through the cave opening into the hospital. In today's terms, it might be better called a "health spa" since there wasn't much in the way of formal medical treatment, just an invitation to breathe the fresh air of the cave.
Dr Diehl was not blind to the scenic values of the region either. He hoped to run a thriving campground resort to supplement his medical fees with tourist dollars. In time his healing resort expanded to a few small cabins, a campground, a show cave and he even had an electric generator running off the spring. Visitors came from the local area and from as far off as Oklahoma and Illinois, but times were hard and travel to such remote places still difficult.
Unfortunately, the hospital and resort were not a big success. Roads in the Ozarks were rough and unpaved, making it difficult to get into the Current River Country. Few tourists were willing to make the trip. The good doctor died in 1940, and his family did not have much interest in keeping up the resort afterwards, which soon fell into ruin.
The hospital is a ruin today, but still stands next to the beautiful Welch Spring. It is located between Cedargrove and Akers on the Upper Current. It is best reached by canoe.
https://www.nps.gov/ozar/learn/historyculture/welch-hospital.htm
All photos are my originals. Info from link. Thanks for looking!
