Near the small community of Eden, Arizona, the ruins of Indian Hot Springs mark the site of one of the Arizona Territory's most ambitious resorts. The property's story began in the late 1870s, when it was first developed by Ben Gardner. In 1888, the site was sold to John Holladay, who renamed it Holladay Hot Springs and expanded the property to roughly 200 acres.
The Alexander Brothers' Grand Resort
The resort reached its most ambitious form after being sold to the Alexander brothers in 1899, who renamed it Indian Hot Springs — the name that has stuck ever since. Under their ownership, the property grew to include 60 cottage-tents for guests, and in 1903 a three-story, 30-room hotel was completed. Two years later, in 1905, the resort opened a swimming pool measuring 255 by 70 feet — at the time, the largest swimming pool in Arizona, drawing visitors from well beyond the Gila Valley to soak in its mineral-fed waters.
Decline and Loss
The resort's long run came to an end in stages. In 1966, Arizona health officials shut down the pool because it was unchlorinated, effectively ending the site's era as a functioning bathing resort. The historic hotel building survived for decades afterward, but on February 28, 2008, it burned down to its masonry walls, leaving the ruins that remain today.
Visiting Today
Indian Hot Springs today is a historic ruin, not an operating resort — there are no functioning pools, soaking tubs, or hotel services on site. Visitors interested in its history should treat a visit as a chance to see a piece of Arizona's territorial-era tourism history rather than an active spa destination; for a currently operating mineral-soaking experience in the Gila Valley, Kachina Mineral Springs Spa near Safford offers a working alternative. Those planning to visit the ruins should be prepared for an undeveloped site with no amenities.