In 1766, a decade before the Declaration of Independence was signed, a former military cadet named Thomas Bullitt became a founding father of a different kind. He built a lodge.
Then, as now, location was a key consideration, and Bullitt chose a prime one, in the Allegheny Mountains of Virginia, where mineral springs bubbled from the earth, drawing travelers who believed in their healing powers. Bullitt’s lodge, which he called the Homestead, gave them a place to stay.
Its guest list grew illustrious. In the summer of 1818, Thomas Jefferson spent 18 nights there, seeking relief for rheumatism. Nearly a century later, William Howard Taft…
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