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Four Seasons Hotel and Sanatorium

 Collection
Identifier: 2016.037

Abstract

The Four Seasons Hotel and Sanitarium, now Grant-Lee Hall, was the first building on what would be Lincoln Memorial University's campus. It had many famous visitors including Cornelius Vanderbilt and Mark Twain. This collection includes architecule sketches, photographs, and correspondences between 1891-2006.

Dates

  • 1891-2006

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research; access requires at least 48 hours advance notice. Because of the nature of certain archival formats, including digital and audio-visual materials, access will require additional advanced notice.

Conditions Governing Use

The nature of the University Archives and Special Collections means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. The Carnagie-Vincent Library claims only physical ownership of most Special Collections materials

The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.

This collection may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations. Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which Lincoln Memorial University assumes no responsibility.

Biographical / Historical

The Four Seasons Hotel and Sanitarium was built in 1892 on what is now the campus of Lincoln Memorial University. The owner (Alexander A. Arthur) of the hotel spared no expense in furnishing the hotel and providing its guests with the best possible stay. During the course of its short life, the Four Seasons had many famous visitors including Cornelius Vanderbilt and Mark Twain. In 1895, the hotel had to be demolished due to bankruptcy and the contents and property were auctioned off. A few years later, Oliver Otis Howard marked that plot of land for the site of Lincoln Memorial University. This would become a college which would honor the memory of Lincoln and uphold his ideals about producing a better educated community in the Appalachia region. This collection contains articles about the Four Seasons Hotel and Sanitarium, as well as photographs of the Four Seasons. The sanitarium would later become Grant-Lee Hall, a dormitory [now administration building] on Lincoln Memorial University’s campus.

Biographical Sources: Hess, Earl, Lincoln Memorial and the Shaping of Appalachia, Knoxville: University of Tennessee, 2011.

Extent

1 Legal-sized Hollinger Box (0.4 Linear Feet)

Language of Materials

English

Title
Four Seasons Hotel and Sanatorium
Author
Finding Aid originally written by April Scheuer, edited by Olivia Coyne
Date
2012, November; edited 2025
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the University Archives & Special Collections Repository

Contact:
Lincoln Memorial Univesity
Carnegie-Vincent Library
6965 Cumberland Gap Parkway
Harrogate Tennessee 37752 United States