Über den Ort » Berkeley Springs, Morgan County, West Virginia, Die Vereinigten Staaten

Berkeley Springs is a town in, and the county seat of, Morgan County, West Virginia, United States, in the state's Eastern Panhandle. While the area was part of Virginia (prior to 1861), the town was incorporated as Bath. Since 1802, it has been referred to by the name of its original Virginia post office, Berkeley Springs. The population of the town was 624 at the 2010 United States Census. The town is located within the Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. Berkeley Springs is a sister city to Bath, Somerset, England. The area contains mineral water springs that were frequented by Amerinds, possibly for thousands of years. After settlement by Europeans, the mineral springs drew many visitors from urban areas. Notable colonial visitors to the area included George Washington and James Rumsey. Berkeley Springs remained a popular resort area during the early years of the United States. It is the home of the Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting, the longest running and largest such event in the world. The area continues to be a popular resort area with tourism the main industry in the county and four full-service spas using the mineral water. A historic building whose construction began in 1888, was built as a retreat for Rosa and Samuel Taylor Suit, and it overlooks the town (see photograph). It often is called "Berkeley Castle". Berkeley Springs is a noted arts community with working artists accounting for approximately 1% of the county population of 16,000. Since 1994, the town has been listed by John Villani in all four editions of his "100 Best Art Towns in America", one of only 11 towns so rated.