FEATURE
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measure, related to the routing of the Elizabethtown and Paducah
Railroad through Dawson in 1872. Powered by marketing from the
Illinois Central Railroad [5], testimonials on the health-impact of
the local water fueled a significant medical tourism business. Many
hotels were built, including the Arcadia, Hamby, Potter, Tennessee,
New Southern, Hendrix, Green Lawn, Sandusky, Dockery, and
New Century, each advertising its own well and mineral content
[1]. Local pharmacies, such as Price and Clark’s Drug Store and the
Scott Drug Company, grew with the influx of visitors. The Scott
Drug Company moved in across from the train depot in 1896
and marketed a successful treatment for diarrhea known as Scott’s
Iodoform Emulsion. It was so popular, that, in 1902, Scott sold
his pharmacy and established the Dawson Pharmal Company [1].
Hamby, who is sometimes called the “Father of Dawson Springs,”
established the Hamby Hotel, owned interest in the Acadia Hotel,
and also established the Dawson Salts and Water Company. This
company bottled straight mineral water, but also carbonated and
concentrated the water from one of the original Hamby wells (Figure
3) (Tabor 1903) [1]. The company claimed that drinking their water
could cure renal failure (Figure 3). Concentrated Dawson water was
prepared by boiling away pure water, leaving behind a brownish
fluid, which was an 80-fold concentrated product that could be
shipped more cheaply [1]. Water bottled by the Arcadia Hotel was
sold directly to consumers as Arcadia Mineral Water (Figure 4).
Well number four was the source of bottled water because it was
the only one with appreciable levels of lithium (Figure 5).
The reported power of these waters was almost limitless. They
were advertised to heal myriad diseases including all forms of in-
digestion, stomach discomfort, inactive liver, bladder and kidney
problems, female irregularities, rheumatoid pain, dropsy, dyspepsia,
nervous debility, hemorrhoids, and maladies of the liver and kidneys.
However, it was the effect of the water on “excessive indulgence
in intoxicants” [1] that persisted into the 1940s. Lithiated waters
were believed to aid recovery from alcoholic hangovers - a major
impetus for the creation of 7Up and other lemon-lime sodas such
as Heads Up, Wake Up, and Cheer Up [3]. Lithium was ultimately
removed from these drinks in the mid-late 1940s when several
deaths resulted from lithium toxicity, caused by consumption of
lithium chloride table salt [6].
A more recent attempt to sell Dawson Springs well waters oc-
curred in 1986. Utilizing only 40 percent of Dawson Springs water
(to minimize the mineral taste), there was an effort to reinvigorate
the original industry. However, poor business decisions led to the
economic demise of the company only three years later [7]. The
few traces of a once-thriving mineral water business from the late
10
LOUISVILLE MEDICINE
nineteenth and early twentieth centuries can be found in historical
archives of the Dawson Springs Museum and Art Center.
Jesse H. Wright, MD, PhD, is a Kolb Endowed Professor for Outpatient
Psychiatry and Director of the UofL Depression Center.
Sohaib Khaleel Mohammed, MD, is a research scholar
Samreen Fathima, MD, is a research scholar.
Rif S. El-Mallakh, MD, is the professor and director of the Mood Disorders
Research Program
Alisha Beard, BA, is the Curator of the Lithium Museum
Steven Lippmann, MD, is Professor Emeritus of the UofL Department
of Psychiatry
References
1. Tabor MW. The Story of Dawson Springs, First Edition. R.E. Russel Oracle
Print: Dawson Springs, Kentucky, 1903, 35 pp.
2. El-Mallakh RS, Jefferson JW. Prethymoleptic Use of Lithium. Am J Psy-
chiatry. 1999;156(1):129.
3. El-Mallakh RS, Roberts RJ. Lithiated lemon-lime sodas. Am J Psychiatry.
2007;164(11):1662.
4. Young EG, Musgrave FF. The formation and decomposition of urate gels.
Biochem J. 1932;26(4):941–953.
5. Illinois Central Railroad. Dawson Springs: Kentucky’s Renowned Health
and Pleasure Resort. Pamphlet issues by the Passenger Department of the
Illinois Central Railroad, (1911), 17 pp. (Provided by The Dawson Springs
Museum, 320 East Rosedale Lane, Dawson Springs, Kentucky, 42408.)
6. El-Mallakh RS: Prethymoleptic uses of lithium in the United States. Lou-
isville Medicine. 1996;56:461-463.
7. Beshear-Sewell J. Interview with mayor of Dawson Springs by the authors,
19 July 2017.
8. Hamby WI. A Souvenir Album of Dawson Springs: The Health Paradise.
Pamphlet without publisher or year, circa 1910. (Provided by The Dawson
Springs Museum, 320 East Rosedale Lane, Dawson Springs, Kentucky,
42408.)