Fountain Spring House

In a village where rich and famous visitors arrived every day and grand resorts were commonplace, the Fountain Spring House of Waukesha stood above all others.

Matthew Lafflin and Thomas B. Bryan were both wealthy financiers from Chicago who found accommodations inadequate upon their first visit to the village. Lafflin claimed his 69 years of diabetes were cured by Waukesha Water, and made it his goal to be a part of the rapidly growing 'Health Water' market. He and Bryan began their hotel in 1873.

The Fountain Spring House prospered, as Waukesha Water became all the more popular. The two Chicago businessmen watched as the city grew around their hotel.

Then, on August 31, 1878, sometime near 11:00 p.m. a fire started in the kitchen of the hotel and spread through the rest of the building. At the time, the hotel had about 200 guests and 70 employees, all of whom escaped without harm. The estimated loss was near $200,000.Rather than abandon their investment, Lafflin and Bryan rebuilt their hotel in the grandest possible fashion. The design called for something similar to the Grand Union Hotel of Saratoga, New York, giving Waukesha the title 'Saratoga of the West'.

The new building opened in May 1879 with an enormously popular reception. The grounds were remodeled and expanded to fit with the new decorum. The new Fountain Spring House included bicycling trails, a half-mile racetrack, croquet and tennis courts, horse shows, and a billiards room.

"Its magnificent proportions surpass the wildest expectations of the most sanguine believers." - A staff writer of Hotel World

The building's front rose three stories in the air, and was centered around an octagonal tower. A porch wound around the face between the second and third stories, affording visitors a position to view the entire city. The main entrance was located in the central tower at the building's North East end, and led to a 16 foot wide central stairway.

The Fountain Spring House was the premiere Waukesha resort for many years. It was a symbol of everything the Village and City of Waukesha stood for, in an age of extravagance.