History

Paeonian Springs owes its existence to the railroad and to a spring. Development began in 1871 when the Washington & Ohio line (later the Washington & Old Dominion) came through, and in 1890 promoters advertised a resort near the Blue Ridge, touting the water, mountain air and views. The name borrows from Paean, the healer of the Greek gods, a nod to the water’s supposed curative powers.

For a few decades the formula worked. Washington families came out by train to escape summer heat, and the spring water was bottled and shipped to the capital. By 1901 the village had three hotels or boarding houses and a small downtown by the depot; by 1912 a boardwalk linked the station to a post office, mill, blacksmith, wheelwright and store.

Decline set in during the 1920s as automobiles spread, federal rules curbed health claims for bottled water, and the mill burned in 1929. Rail service ended in 1968, and the right-of-way became the W&OD Trail. Nearly three dozen buildings from the boom years survive, most dating to about 1900–1910, including a springhouse and the bottling plant.