This month we are visiting the home of the popular bottled water, Poland Spring Water, located in Poland, Maine! Poland Spring Resort began in 1797 as the Wentworth Ricker Inn for travelers moving through the area. Hiram Ricker claimed the spring water cured him of dyspepsia (indigestion) in 1844. The family began selling it commercially in 1859. Ricker also began marketing the resort as a country getaway filled with recreational activities.
On July 4, 1876, the inn reopened as the Poland Spring House, and began to attract the county’s social and political elite. The inn housed a barbershop, dance hall, photography studio, pool rooms, dining, and bowling alleys.
The resort also purchased the Main State Building from the state of Maine that was built for the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893. It was dismantled in Chicago and transported to Poland Spring, and was dedicated as an art gallery and library for the resort. The building is one of the few surviving of the Chicago World’s Fair that still stands today.
The Poland water was the main attraction. In 1907, the Rickers opened a new modern bottling plant that could do 450 cases of water a day. Druggists purchased the water to sell in their stores for patients hoping for clean water as a miracle cure.
In 1969, the resort closed for good, although distribution of water continued. In 1972, Mel Robbins bought the land and planned to raze the grounds and use it as condominiums, but liked the property as it was and began leasing the hotels. The original house burned to the ground in 1975. In 1982, Mel and Cyndi Robbins purchased most of the property and since have preserved the land as a resort again.
Sources:
Poland Spring. (Medical Trade Ephemera Collection) Historical Medical Library of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA.
“Poland Spring History.” Poland Spring Preservation Society. Website. https://polandspringps.org/2019/04/04/poland-spring-history/
Poland Spring Resort. Website. https://polandspringresort.com/