DESTINATION: Radium Springs – health and healing amongst crystalline blue waters

Past groves of pecan trees and fields of agriculture, the backcountry roads churn along the outskirts of Bainbridge, through Vada, and Camilla, before emptying out into Radium Springs, Georgia.

Once the location of a luxurious resort, just four miles from Albany central, Radium Springs Gardens nowadays is a nice morning or afternoon respite for picnickers and tourists.

Originally, the crystal-blue waters at this site were revered by the Native Americans who called them “Sky Water”.

By the 1830’s, European settlers had renamed the free-flowing mineral source ‘Blue Springs.”

They were frequented by soldiers from Fort Selden, a nearby 19th century army outpost (now in ruins).

In the 1920’s, lab tests proved that minimal traces of naturally-occurring radium were present; this radical discovery, in an era when mineral springs were ‘all the rage’, only heightened the swimming hole’s allure of supposed ‘mystical healing powers’ and increased popularity of the property.

With year-round temperatures of 68°F., Radium Springs attracted flocks of vacationers and locals interested in dipping their toes in the natural reservoir.

It also attracted developers, eager to cash in on its profitability potential with the ‘day-trippers’ who came to bathe; a restaurant, plus guest cottages, were built in the early 1900’s to tap into this new industry.

A colonial-style ‘casino’ followed in 1927, boasting an elegant dining room and monstrous ballroom, all hovering above terraced stone walls that rose dramatically from the pool.

The swimming hole at Radium Springs, where tourists once flocked to bathe and wade in the waters that were believed to possess special healing benefits.

Though never housing a gambling establishment, the ‘casino’ provided ample entertainment for its guests through daytime horseback riding, golf, hunting, and tennis.

Nighttime pursuits - moonlit canoeing, swimming and dancing - followed lavish banquets.

In its glory days, Radium Springs Resort hosted golf tournaments, galas and beauty pageants; at the height of its prominence, nearby golf courses reeled in society notoriety, like legendary golfer Bobby Jones.

The casino was even rented out as an Officer’s Club by the Army Air Corps during World War II.

Regrettably, floods during the ‘90’s would eventually take their toll; barely into the new millennium, the resort would be totally demolished.

Built in a floodplain, it was normal for the Springs to flood a little during the rainy season, but, in 1994, Hurricane Alberto, the first named storm of the season, stalled out over southwest Georgia, causing the nearby Ocmulgee, Flint and Chattahoochee Rivers to rise to record-high levels (the worst in their history), and dumping 24-inches of rain in the area.

The overwhelmed Flint, flowing into the wellspring, completely submerged the casino.

Though it was rebuilt by 1996, subsequent floods of ’98 damaged the casino beyond repair.

The entire building was finally removed in 2003.

Still, today’s visitors can walk the perimeter of the pool and along the sidewalks, admiring the foliage-draped hills and oak trees blanketed in Spanish moss.

Interpretive signs reveal Radium Springs’ illustrious past at the former venue.

A fresh pair of gazebos are interspersed along the beach, flanked by gardens of indigenous and floral exotics, like Indian Hawthorne, Dwarf Yaupon, and hollies.

Park benches overlook the most significant architecture - the stonework around the lagoon, though it’s beginning to crumble.

“You can bring bread to feed the bream,” suggests Kevin Hall, Parks and Garden Coordinator. “That stirs up the catfish.”

Pike fish, too, rise topside.

Having worked for Dougherty County for five years, Hall maintains the grounds-keeping, does pressure-washing, and helps plant the latest vegetation.

New landscaping, in recent years, has been initiated in the low points, using native greenery capable of surviving in standing water.

Specifically designed to capture storm-water flow, these cultivars of sweet flag, tickseed, and southern swamp sunflower filter excess nutrients and pollutants as the soil quickly drains.

Other rain garden plants – Louisiana iris, pickerel weed, and Cardinal flower – sustain a wholesome environment.

Overall, modern-day Radium Springs Gardens is an eco-friendly ‘green’ space.

Its actual history, however, began more than thirty million years ago, when the terrain near Albany was a shallow marine habitat.

When the sea dried up, cream-colored limestone rock layers formed to generate what is now considered “Ocala Limestone”.

This created the Upper Floridan Aquifer, which extends into many neighboring counties.

At Radium Springs, erosion wore away the limestone, and water percolated up from the saturated rock.

At the moment, more than 20 large springs bubble up in the Flint River between Albany and Bainbridge, with Radium Springs touted as the largest basin in Georgia.

Producing 70,000 gallons of outpour a minute, the source is one of the seven natural wonders in the state.

With expansion plans already in the works, renovations at the gardens will include clearing the property down to the river, adding more verdure, and putting in a walking trail.

Most recently, in 2020, a memorial totem and commemorative marker were unveiled in a dedication ceremony honoring victims of a pair of deadly January 2017 twisters that ripped through Albany, ultimately claiming five lives and injuring over 50 citizens.

Amidst the continuing pandemic, relaxing outdoors, ambling through the ruins of a former grand ‘casino’, staring across a turquoise-blue pool of thermic waters might be just what the doctor ordered.

Perhaps there really is ‘healing’ in those springs.

Radium Springs Gardens 2501 Radium Springs Rd, Albany, Georgia (229) 317-4760 Open 9 a.m. - 7 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday. No admission cost

Vickie Lillo - Gadsden County News Service

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DESTINATION: Radium Springs – health and healing amongst crystalline blue waters

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Robert F. Munroe unveils enhanced playground at the school

Local organization fulfills the hygienic needs of community’s youth

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