Former Health Resort Hotel Site in Covington LA

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The history of the Claiborne Cottage Hotel property parallels the rise and decline of St. Tammany Parish's health tourism industry in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries and is the last remaining example of the high-end resorts that once dotted the parish. After serving as the St. Tammany Parish courthouse, a private residence, and a Catholic seminary, the 2-story brick masonry building on the Claiborne Cottage Hotel property was converted by the Jaufroid family in 1880 into a health resort catering to a wealthy clientele, primarily from New Orleans. References to the new "Claiborne Cottage" began appearing in the St. Tammany Farmer that year; for instance, one enticing letter to the editor reads:

Records indicate that the new resort was a success, and within a year of opening there was already talk of expansion. In 1882, the Jaufroids erected a 1-story addition on the west side of the hotel to house a dining room (demolished). In a piece about the addition, the St. Tammany Farmer wrote that it was "ample proof of the fact that Mr. and Mme. Jaufroid have successfully solved the problem of how to keep hotel, and we have no doubt that all available rooms at Claiborne Cottage will soon be filled with guests."

Mme. Jaufroid died in 1885, and in 1889 the property was put up for sale. The new proprietor, Jules Maille, "a gentleman of old Creole stock," undertook a substantial expansion of the property, adding a large new 2-story hotel building and detached cottages; the enlarged site is depicted in a watercolor survey map made that year. The hotel's reopening and its well-refined proprietor were covered with fanfare in the New Orleans Daily States:

Thus, by the end of the 1880s, Claiborne Cottage Hotel had cemented its reputation as a luxury getaway nestled among the natural charms of the Ozone Belt. The property changed hands again in the 1890s; one auction advertisement describes it as "The Celebrated Claiborne Cottage and Noted Health Resort," and another as "The Sanitarium of the South, Claiborne Cottage." Dr. Numa M. Hebert, a physician, and his wife owned and operated the hotel from the mid-1890s until 1912. Building on Mr. Maille's success, it was perhaps during the Heberts' period of ownership that the hotel became "one of the most popular resorts in the state," as Ellis describes it. In a full-page feature article entitled "St. Tammany's Many Pleasure Resorts," published in New Orleans's Daily Item in 1902, the Claiborne Cottage Hotel gets top billing as the first and most lavishly described property:

In December 1912, the large hotel building that was added to the site in 1889 burned to the ground. Records indicate that Dr. Hebert sold the property soon thereafter, and the subsequent owner, a Mrs. Thomas Hebert, continued the hotel's operation in the surviving buildings, including the former courthouse. Brief references to the hotel persist into the early 1920s, but it is clear that the 1912 fire triggered its gradual decline. The exact year that the hotel finally closed has not yet been determined, so an estimated date of 1930 is being used to mark the end of the Claiborne Cottage Hotel's many decades as a leading Ozone Belt resort in the parish.

Other Health Resorts in St. Tammany Parish

Claiborne Cottage Hotel was one of numerous establishments in operation during the prime decades of the health resort era in St. Tammany Parish, c.1880-1930. Research resulted in the identification of 27 properties, the vast majority of which have been demolished or destroyed by fire. Only 5, including the subject property, have been confirmed as extant. Each of these properties is described in detail below.

As previously described, the Ozone Belt resorts varied in size and function; for instance, some were more akin to hospitals ("sanitariums"); some served other markets, such as business travelers, in addition to health tourists; some had a handful of guest rooms while others could accommodate over 100 guests. Most establishments identified, including the most prominent, were located in or near Covington, Abita Springs, or Mandeville. A few resorts were located in the towns of Pearl River, Slidell, and Lacombe. Some were located in or near downtowns and are well documented, while those that operated outside of city limits in rural areas, with no specific street address, were often more challenging to trace in detail. Still other establishments were essentially residences serving as boarding houses with an extra bedroom or two that tried to capitalize on the Ozone Belt's success.

In addition to the subject property, the following 4 establishments associated with St. Tammany's history of health tourism are extant:

• Southern Hotel, 428 E. Boston Street, Covington. This 43-room, Missional Revival-style hotel was constructed in 1907 in the heart of downtown Covington and served as its premiere hotel for travelers of all kinds. It was not explicitly constructed as a health resort, although for about one year in 1912 it was converted into a sanitarium for drug and alcohol addiction treatment (and briefly renamed the "New Fenwick"). In some cases it was grouped in with the area's other resorts, such as in town or parish booster campaigns. After several decades of decline and neglect, the building was rehabilitated in 2013 as a hotel.

• Fenwick Sanitarium, 711 S. New Hampshire Street, Covington. Fenwick Sanitarium is a 2-story, 35-room Colonial Revival-style building constructed in 1926 by Dr. Frank Fenwick Young as a drug and alcohol addiction treatment facility. Prior to its construction, Dr. Young operated his sanitarium in several leased locations around Covington during the 1910s, including the Southern Hotel, The Oaks (demolished), and Glen Cottage (destroyed by fire). The building, located on a quiet residential street in the southern outskirts of downtown, most recently served as apartments and is currently vacant. It possesses exterior integrity (interior integrity is unknown) and is a rare surviving example of the more hospital-like establishments associated with the Ozone Belt. Given its use as a medical facility, it is not directly comparable to the subject property.

• Longbranch Annex, 21516 Highway 36, Abita Springs. Longbranch Annex is a small, 2-story galleried hotel building constructed c. 1890 as an annex to the nearby Longbranch Hotel, a popular resort that was destroyed by fire in 1992. The annex building was extensively renovated in 2017 and converted into an addiction treatment recovery center. Large new side additions and the replacement of a number of exterior features, including windows, doors, and siding, with synthetic materials has compromised the building's exterior integrity (interior integrity is unknown).

• Rest Awhile, 2129 Lakeshore Drive, Mandeville. Located in Mandeville on the shore of Lake Pontchartrain, Rest Awhile began in the 1880s as Frapart Hotel. In 1903, the property was acquired by a religious organization, the International Order of the King's Daughters and Sons, who opened the Rest Awhile as a retreat for poor and working mothers and their children. The Rest Awhile allegedly remained in operation until 2005. The three buildings that remain on the site; a large raised, 1-story galleried cottage that served as the hotel and two cottages, are currently under renovation to serve as a restaurant complex. (Records indicate that a fourth cottage was relocated onto an adjacent parcel at an unknown date and several others were demolished over time.) As part of the renovation, the buildings have been elevated several feet for flood protection purposes, and one of the cottages has been moved closer to the front of the property; future plans include new additions and the interconnection of the buildings via exterior walkways.

History of Covington and Claiborne

The City of Covington, the parish seat of St. Tammany Parish, is located on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain approximately 40 miles north of New Orleans.

Covington was founded in 1813 by John Wharton Collins, a New Orleans merchant of English descent who had emigrated from Philadelphia soon after the Louisiana Purchase. In May 1813, Collins purchased some 1600 acres lying in the fork between the Bogue Falaya and Tchefuncte Rivers from Jacques Drieux, a New Orleans Creole who had acquired the land by grant from the Spanish government in 1803. Prior to this transaction Collins had staked a claim with the Spanish government to all land lying between the Tchefuncte River and the Drieux tract. Taken together these two parcels of land constitute the major portion of present-day Covington. In July 1813, Collins laid out the squares, streets, and lots in what he called the Division of St. John and dedicated the town, which he named Wharton, to Thomas Jefferson. In 1816, Collins was awarded a charter by the legislature, but the name was changed to Covington over his protest. This name was given to honor General Leonard Covington of Natchez, a hero of the War of 1812.

The adjacent Town of Claiborne, located just east of downtown Covington on the opposite bank of the Bogue Falaya River, was similarly established in the 1810s. In 1819, it became the site of the new St. Tammany Parish courthouse and jail upon the commitment of the town's developers, the Claiborne Company, to erect the buildings at their own expense. This was the second courthouse to serve the parish. In 1813, Governor William Charles Cole Claiborne had named a commission to choose a location for a courthouse no more than 3 miles from the center of St. Tammany Parish. The commission chose a portion of land owned by Thomas C. Warner, the first parish judge of St. Tammany Parish, on the Bogue Chitto River near Enon. Only four years later, a new commission was formed to choose a different location "in or near the town of Covington," and Claiborne was chosen. However, records indicate that as Covington grew, Claiborne did not prosper as anticipated, and in the 1820s the Police Jury voted to relocate the parish court across the river. Throughout the 19^th and early 20^th centuries, Claiborne remained a sleepy, rural suburb of Covington.

The Health Tourism Industry in St. Tammany Parish

The leading industries that comprised St. Tammany Parish's economy in the 19^th and early 20^th centuries brick making, lumber, and health tourism-were all tied to its distinctive environment, according to parish historian Frederick S. Ellis:

The parish's role as a resort destination developed in the mid-19^th century and was supported in large part by New Orleanians seeking not only recreation but also refuge from the city's fatal outbreaks of yellow fever, tuberculosis, and other infectious diseases. In the 1880s, with the arrival of the railroad and its democratizing influence, the industry blossomed into a mainstay of the local economy, with Covington and nearby Abita Springs at its heart.

St. Tammany's geography differed significantly from that of low-lying, swampy New Orleans, whose "bad" air was long blamed for its epidemics. The north shore of Lake Pontchartrain, by contrast, where residents did not suffer from such illnesses, was characterized by higher ground and the wholesome fresh air of its piney woods and lake breezes. In addition, St. Tammany's pure, mineral-laced artesian spring water, which was sourced from natural springs and wells, stood in stark contrast to New Orleans' foul river water and cisterns, which were havens for mosquitoes (the true source, it was later discovered, of the yellow fever virus). These natural elements, combined with frequent lightning storms, produced what became known, by the late 1800s, as a mysterious and cathartic substance called "ozone." It is unknown who first coined the term in this context, or who is responsible for branding St. Tammany Parish as the "Ozone Belt," but, in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries, "ozone" became locally synonymous with health and recuperation, and visitors flocked to the parish to partake of it. According to historical geographer Richard Campanella, the term "reflected an era in medical history, before germ theory, when humans sought explanations for maladies and their remedies in things that they could physically perceive." In truth, there is no relationship between what modern science officially classifies as "ozone," a toxic gas harmful to humans, and St. Tammany's salubrious climate. But in spite of the misnomer, the fact remains that the Ozone Belt developed a robust and long-lasting tourism economy by capitalizing on its environment as a sanctuary of wellness.

Among the first documented hospitality ventures to capitalize on these natural resources was "Christy Springs," which was established in the 1850s by two investors from New Orleans, Joseph Bossier and William Christy, in present-day Abita Springs. Located adjacent to artesian springs, the resort provided lodgings and a dedicated omnibus line connecting it with steamers and trains to New Orleans. The parish's reputation as a health and recreation destination was established soon thereafter, but it grew significantly in the post-Civil War period and is credited with inspiring "the first sign of returning life in Covington" following Reconstruction.

The industry expanded significantly in the late 19^th century. Two yellow fever epidemics in New Orleans in 1878 and 1897 drove thousands of refugees to the Northshore, and at the same time the Ozone Belt began garnering national attention. In 1891, the New Orleans Daily City Item reported that Covington ranked as "the most healthy place in the United States" based on deaths per capita (from all causes), according to the local United States Census commissioner. For the next several years this distinction would be repeated and re-affirmed several times over. In 1897, in the midst of the second yellow fever crisis, Dr. Sarah Hackett Stevenson, MD, a Chicago physician, helped spread the word by writing the following letter to the Chicago Times Herald (republished in the St. Tammany Farmer). Dr. Stevenson's letter expounds Covington's virtues as a "city of refuge" and illustrates the Ozone Belt's growing reputation within the national medical community at the turn of the 20^th Century:

The Ozone Belt, particularly Covington and Abita Springs, was also publicized in medical journals and other publications, including The Chicago Clinic and the New Orleans Medical and Surgical Journal. In c. 1905, a New Orleans printing house published The World Famous "Ozone Belt," a promotional hardcover book that described in great and flattering detail all of the towns in St. Tammany Parish, including Covington and its "Claiborne Hotel and Cottages … one of the most successful and exclusive hostelries in St. Tammany Parish." In 1912, in a lengthy article entitled "The New Orleans of To-Day," the National Real Estate Journal emphasized the city's proximity to the Ozone Belt, which "is noted as being the healthiest spot in the United States, and is particularly beneficial for tubercular and kidney troubles, by reason of its pine laden atmosphere and its mineral waters."

The heyday of the health tourism industry in St. Tammany Parish spans roughly the 1880s to 1930, during which period the parish was home to numerous resorts, both large and small. The majority were located in Covington, Abita Springs, and along the lakefront in Mandeville, with a handful in Slidell, Lacombe, and Pearl River. These establishments, like those of any other industry, catered to different populations and distinguished themselves by specialization. Some, such as Fenwick Sanitarium (alcohol and drug addiction treatment) and the Louisiana Tuberculosis Sanitarium, both in Covington, were essentially physician-owned hospitals with trained medical staff. The term "sanitarium" was typically reserved for these types of establishments, although it was also sometimes used to describe less hospital-like but nevertheless health-focused resorts such as the Claiborne Cottage Hotel. Others were more standard-type hotels that served health tourists as well as businessmen and other downtown visitors, e.g., the Southern Hotel in Covington. There were more upscale resorts for the wealthy as well as those created specifically for the lower classes, such as the Rest Awhile in Mandeville, which was established in 1903 by the International Order of the King's Daughters and Sons, a religious organization, as a destination for poor and single working mothers and their children.

As the 20^th Century progressed, St. Tammany's health tourism industry waned due to "medical advances, the discovery of the yellow fever virus and improved municipal services in New Orleans," according to Campanella." "Highways and later airplanes," he writes, "allowed New Orleanians [and others] to vacation further away and for different reasons." The resorts eventually closed, and over time most have been lost.

Site Description

The Claiborne Cottage Hotel occupies a wooded, 7.3-acre site on the east bank of the Bogue Falaya River across from downtown Covington, St. Tammany Parish, in an area that was historically part of the Town of Claiborne. The property consists of a 2-story brick masonry building that was constructed in 1818-19 as the St. Tammany Parish Courthouse and converted into Claiborne Cottage Hotel in 1880; and a 1-story wood-frame cottage constructed c. 1889 as part of the hotel's expansion. Both buildings are currently vacant and/or used for storage. The 2-story Chimes-Covington Restaurant, was constructed in 2012 approximately 100 feet northwest of the hotel. Claiborne Cottage Hotel was established in this rural, river-adjacent setting as a health resort during the height of St. Tammany's era as a health tourism destination, known as the "Ozone Belt," which capitalized on the area's piney, "ozone'-laden air and artesian spring water as a cure for all ills. The hotel's success soon led to the construction of several other buildings on the site, including the c. 1889 cottage; the others are no longer extant due to fire or demolition. Despite the construction of the restaurant and the paving of some sections of the site for parking, the setting still conveys the bucolic feel that drew tourists to the hotel for more than four decades. The hotel building and cottage were updated to serve as a private residence in the 1940s, and the cottage was expanded with rear additions.

The property on which the Claiborne Cottage Hotel sits is an irregularly shaped 7.3-acre parcel of woodland that was gradually reduced over time from approximately 50 acres. The curving Bogue Falaya River forms the property's northwest boundary; across the river is downtown Covington, the parish seat. To the east runs U.S. Highway 190, from which the hotel buildings are set back approximately 200 feet and shielded from view by mature trees. Approximately 0.2 miles north of the property is the Tammany Trace Bike Trail, which marks the location of the New Orleans Great Northern Railroad (NOGNRR), a primary mode of access to the hotel during its heyday. The site is mostly flat, with a downward slope toward the river bank, and populated with mature trees including pines, oaks, and magnolias, which grow denser as one approaches the water. The hotel and cottage are bordered by lawn. Some sections of the property have been paved with concrete and gravel to accommodate parking for the Chimes-Covington Restaurant, which was constructed in 2012 on the western edge of the property. Until the late 20th/early 21^st centuries, when the City of Covington gradually annexed it, the area in which the property is located was the Town of Claiborne; today, it is known as the Claiborne Hill neighborhood of Covington.

The hotel building, a squarish, 2-story galleried building with painted load-bearing brick masonry walls and a hip roof, was erected in 1818-19 as the St. Tammany Parish Courthouse. It functioned as a courthouse for less than a decade; in the 1820s, the Police Jury decided to relocate the parish court to Covington, and the 1819 building became a private residence and, later, a Catholic seminary. In 1880, it was renovated by the Jaufroid family to serve as "Claiborne Cottage," an upscale resort catering to the parish's rapidly growing health tourism industry. Following the 1880 renovation, the building underwent subsequent improvements during its four decades as the Claiborne Cottage Hotel (1880-c.1920).

Due to the many successive alterations and changes in use that took place at this building over the course of more than a century, its original appearance as a courthouse is unclear. According to a conveyance record dated July 10^th, 1818, the courthouse was planned as a 2-story brick building with the following dimensions and features:

Forty feet in length, by thirty feet in depth, the first story to be twelve feet high, and the second nine feet high, and to be divided into rooms in the following manner viz; on the first floor one room twenty-four feet by thirty; and on the other thirty feet by fifteen including the walls; the rooms of the second story one to be divided by a passage of ten feet in breadth, through the center crossways so as to leave four rooms fifteen feet square including the walls with a proportionate number of windows and doors, throughout said building and flight of stairs from the large room on the first floor, leading to the passage in the upper story. The roof to be well covered with shingles, on tiles with a cupola and belfry on the top, of such dimensions as will be proportionate to the size of the building.

The dimensions and layout described above generally match the building as it exists today. According to historian C. Howard Nichols in Stories of a Rivertown, the larger room on the 1^st floor served as the courtroom and the smaller as the judge's chambers; the upper rooms housed public offices. Other original features include the exterior brick walls, which are 18 inches thick, and the cupola at the apex of the hip roof, although its absence and reappearance in historic images of the property indicate that this latter feature was rebuilt over the years. The presence of galleries during this period is unconfirmed but likely.

The building achieved most of its present appearance as the result of a c. 1880 remodeling. And it was after this that the building achieved its significance as a health resort. Fortunately a late nineteenth-century photograph survives to document the building's altered look. The old galleries were removed, and new two-story galleries under shed roofs were added, both front and rear. The columns that were used were salvaged and appear to date from about 1840. Thus they give the building a deceptively Greek Revival appearance. The present French doors also date from the late nineteenth century as do many of the interior partitions. Shortly after the turn of the century the front and rear galleries were linked by a set of two-story galleries on the west side. These were built using salvaged columns which almost match those on the front and rear galleries. Also at that time, a large chimney was added on the east side to service fireplaces both upstairs and down. Most of the present partition walls were in place by the early twentieth century.

Today, all of these historic features survive: the 2-story shed-roof galleries on the north, south, and west elevations with Greek Revival-style wood columns at the upper level; French doors opening onto the galleries; additional interior partitions accommodating a hotel use; and the exterior chimney on the east elevation. In addition to these features, the cupola is shown in the c. 1880s photograph referenced above, indicating that it was in place when the hotel opened for business. The 6/6 double-hung wood sash windows throughout may also date from this period.

The building returned to use as a private residence c. 1940s. Interior alterations that took place during this period include the addition of some Colonial Revival features, such as mantels, cornice molding, chair rails, and door surrounds; some, if not all, of the wood flooring appears to date to the hotel era. Exterior modifications include the replacement of the 1-floor gallery posts with brick columns of similar proportions; the partial enclosure of the rear gallery and the construction of a small 2-story brick wing to house bathrooms; and the addition of an exterior wood staircase adjacent to the front gallery.

The 1.5-story cottage is wood-frame construction on a short brick-pier foundation with a double-pitched side-gable roof and full-length front gallery. It was constructed c. 1889 as part of the Claiborne Cottage Hotel expansion, likely serving as a private guest house. The exterior walls are clad in wood clapboards and the roof is covered with corrugated metal; near the ridgeline is a central brick chimney. The gallery features simple rectangular wood posts, a square-picket railing, and two sets of brick stairs (one centered at the front, one on the west side). Windows are 6/6 double-hung wood sashes and the doors are paneled-wood French doors, all of which are secured with board-and-batten shutters.

The right/west side of the cottage was damaged in recent years by fire. Like the hotel building, it was renovated c. 1940s to serve as a private residence and was updated with Colonial Revival features, including dentil cornice moldings, chair rails, baseboards, and some wood wall paneling. A kitchen was also installed at this time. The wood floors appear to be original. The attic contains a bedroom, small bathroom, and storage, with finishes dating to c. 1940s.

The rear additions to the cottage also date to c. 1940s and comprise a 1-story shed-roof addition that connects to the historic cottage at its southeast corner; a small 2-story shed-roof addition with 2^nd-floor gallery to the south; and a detached 1-story building with side-gable roof to the southwest. These additions open onto an overgrown courtyard bordered by a tall brick fence.

The Chimes-Covington Restaurant was constructed in 2012 approximately 100 feet northwest of the hotel building. It is a 2-story, irregularly shaped steel-frame building clad in unpainted wood for a rustic appearance that complements the wooded setting. The main entrance is on the hotel-facing side of the building, but the primary elevation is on the opposite, river-facing side of the building and consists of deep galleries for outdoor seating and uninterrupted views of the Bogue Falaya River. An elevated wood walkway winds through the woods to connect these galleries to the river's edge.

Claiborne Cottage Hotel, undated [c. 1880s]. The 1-story building to the right was a dining room constructed in 1882 per period newspaper coverage (1880s)

This 1889 survey of the property shows the hotel following its expansion, which was completed that year. The red rectangle represents the original hotel building/former courthouse. The large brown rectangles to its northeast are the new 2-story hotel building and a row of new 1-story connected cottages. The cottage that sits on the property today may be the small standalone brown rectangle to their rear. This map also shows the hotel's proximity to the Bogue Falaya River, its short distance from Claiborne Railroad Station to the north, and its position relative to downtown Covington (1889)

This illustration of the Claiborne Cottage Hotel from the 1890s, entitled The Claiborne Cottages a Summer Resort of New Orleans in the Piny Woods, captures the upscale establishment's emphasis on outdoor recreation and relaxation, complete with shady seating and a tennis net (1890s)

A c. 1905 view of the large hotel building that was added to the site in 1889 and designed to complement the original hotel/former courthouse; note the broad hip roof and wraparound galleries with simple posts and railings. This building was destroyed by fire in 1912 (1905)

A c. 1910 postcard of the with the former courthouse building in the foreground (1910)

This c. 1905 map shows the general location of The World Famous Ozone Belt, with Covington at its center (1905)

St. Tammany Farmer advertisement for Covington, The Healthiest Place in America, February 19, 1910. This distinction was repeated in advertisements and publications far and wide from the 1890s through the 1910s (1910)

North/front elevation of hotel (2018)

North and west elevations of hotel (2018)

West and south elevations of hotel (2018)

East elevation of hotel (2018)

Large room/living room on 1s floor of hotel looking toward front (2018)

Large room/living room on 1s floor of hotel looking toward front (2018)

2^nd floor front right room of hotel (2018)