Description
"Hotel Orient Springs," located in the Pelham Hills, was so named by Edward Hitchcock at the dedication on April 29, 1861. Written on the back of an advertising card: "No summer resort has so many attractions as the Orient Springs House. Besides the Mineral Springs connected with it, which the Professors of Amherst College have unanimously pronounced superior to all others on this continent for their curative effects; it commands the most enchanting views that the eye can rest upon. It is situated upon an eminence, and the view from the tower almost surpasses description. The splendid scenery of the broad valley of the Connecticut is spread out like a variegated carpet, surrounded by Mt. Holyoke and Tom in the south, Sugar Loaf and Toby in the west, while hills and mountains in the distance rise one above the other, making a scene of surpassing beauty and grandeur; while near reposes Amherst, a beautiful village with its rows of College buildings on elevated ground, surrounded by pleasant walks and shady groves."