gmhTODAY 25 gmhTODAY April May 2019 | Page 113

that era, a trip of 4-5 days or more to a spa could easily be explained. Abortion was legal in California at the time, however, the patient needed the prescription of two doctors. The procedure was not only socially unacceptable but medically unsophisticated with a high mortality rate. Medicine in the U.S. was just becoming more of a science, and medical degrees were not yet required to practice. Patent medicine and quackery were hard to distinguish from legitimate practice. Dr. Josselyn may have been able to prove that he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1844, but no record exists of his attendance at any school of medicine. Dr. E.L. Willis purchased the spa from Josselyn and carried on the practice for only a few years. He eventually sold the spa and it was converted to a regular resort for families. Both doctors ended their ”careers” in disgrace. Josselyn was convicted under the new laws of 1901 for practicing without a license. Dr. Willis was convicted in Denver, 1921 for the hotel room abortion- related death of a teacher. The Madrone Soda Springs continued as a resort until the early 1930s, when the advent of personal automobile transporta- tion made it unnecessary to stop or stay in Madrone. Pollution of the springs’ water tank and a State health complaint sealed its doom. The land was then purchased by the Coe family. Most of the buildings are gone now, except for the cold storage and a fountain head awaiting those willing to make the hike. Glen Wildwood operated under various names and may have been the site of the popular Island Dell Park. GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN april/may 2019 Island Dell was operated by James Swindell until it was submerged under Anderson Reservoir in 1950. So, what happened to Madrone? The mines closed after demand waned in the 1920s. The cattle no longer roamed the foothills and valleys, and the wineries, including world-famous Cribari Cellars, closed or moved their operations elsewhere. The church closed as the population decreased, although the school remained. Morgan Hill grew after incorporating in 1906 and encouraged residential construc- tion. The Southern Pacific Railroad no longer stopped at Madrone at the beginning of the First World War. There was no longer a reason for people to come to Madrone. The community didn’t lose its identity, but it did lose its economic base. That is, until it incorporated with Morgan Hill, by popular vote, in 1958. gmhtoday.com 113