Mount Clemens

Mount Clemens denies bath house ordinance amendment

By Julie Snyder
C & G Staff Writer

MOUNT CLEMENS — Bath City wants to save its last bath house.

But in a 5-2 vote on Feb. 6, the Mount Clemens City Commission denied an ordinance amendment that would have designated part of a hospital as the St. Joseph Sanitarium, Bath House and Hospital Historic District.

The city’s Historical Commission had hoped to create a historic district out of several older sections of property on North Avenue and owned by Select Specialty Hospital-Macomb County in an effort to make it eligible for grants through the State Historic Preservation Office.

John Foglyano, secretary to the Mount Clemens Historical Commission, said it’s the commission’s belief that creating a historic district where the area’s last bath house still stands is a significant move, one that could positively impact the city’s economic future.

“The city’s nickname is Bath City,” he said. “We would bring historic attraction that would attract tourists into the city.”

The goal was to eventually find a developer that would have assisted the group in finding future use of the building. Some feared the building, which dates back to 1899, would be torn down, eliminating the last piece of evidence connecting Mount Clemens with bath house history.

Mount Clemens’ bath era began during the Civil War in 1862, at the same time many were in search of “black gold.” It is said that a man named Charles Seffens, a local businessman, sank the first oil well in the city, but brought up only brine. Efforts to extract salt from the waters also failed because minerals in the smelly water prevented the extraction of a commercial grade of salt.

According to local folklore, the medicinal properties of the water became known when a decrepit horse became rejuvenated after drinking and rolling in it. In 1873, a local physician named Henry Taylor founded the Mineral Springs Co. and opened The Original Bath House. During its first 20 years of operation, The Original Bath House administered 750,000 mineral baths, and news of the sulfur-rich water’s powers to heal a wide range of health conditions spread across the country and overseas. While many hospitals had stopped using bath houses for curative means by the 1940s, St. Joseph offered mineral baths until 1952. The house on North Avenue is the last standing former bath house in Mount Clemens.

John Gaber, attorney for Select Specialty Hospital, said before last week’s vote that the designation would put restrictions on renovations and use.

“The city could be infringing upon a property right. It’s a very serious issue,” he said. “The interior of the bath house is gone, and the exteriors, you can’t tell it’s a bath house. Ask yourself if it makes sense to infringe on someone’s property rights.”

He said Select officials are more than willing to sell the building or come up with some productive use for the property.

Jon O’Malley, chief executive officer of Select Specialty Hospital in Mount Clemens, which brings in approximately $150,000 in taxes to the city, said there are plans to begin nearly $4 million in projects and renovations at the hospital, one of which is to renovate the second floor, which would allow the hospital to house more patients and hire more employees, bring in more visitors to the city, and ultimately, more tax dollars. Select is also planning to start using an MRI trailer outside the hospital.

O’Malley said there is no plan to demolish the old bath house because of its potential uses and because demolition costs are around $2 million.

The area is already on the State Register of Historic Sites, according to city records.

Mount Clemens City Commissioners Lois Hill and Ronald Campbell voted in favor of the ordinance amendment.

“It (the St. Joseph bath house) is a very significant part of our history,” said Hill. “It represents many significant instances in the past.”

Hill and Campbell encouraged Historical Commission members to continue their efforts in saving the site, even though it may be a tough road.

“Money is the bottom line … for everything,” said Campbell.

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Julie Snyder at jsnyder@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1039.