Stafford Springs, Mississippi

Stafford Springs, Mississippi

"A Lot More Went On Before The Dude Ranch Sign Went Up!"

This is what appears to be another neat place that has fallen victim to popularity of the current interstate highway system. This is the Stafford Springs Lodge & Dude Ranch, located on U.S. Highway 11 near Vossburg. This page consists of pictures taken from a videotape which was recorded as my "brother" and I stopped to admire this really neat place.

STAFFORD SPRINGS HEALTH RESORT, c. 1940s

History of Stafford Springs

(Submitted by Keith E. Wilkerson of Colbert, Georgia)

In the late 1800s, the original owner of the property, Captain Stafford, discovered a mineral spring on the property. Captain Stafford was a Confederate officer during the Civil War. Due to the naturally occurring minerals in the water, the spring was thought to have curative powers. Eventually, Dr. Rudolph Schiffman, of St. Paul, Minnesota, bought interest in the spring. Dr. Schiffman sold his interest in the property to A.L. Staples of Mobile, Alabama in 1918. At some point, a hotel was built on the property, on the opposite side of Hwy 11 from the restaurant and the property was marketed as a health resort. In those days, there were rail stations in both Vossburg and Heidelburg. People came from near and far to bathe and drink the water. Water was also bottled in glass gallon jugs and shipped around the world. In 1925, Staples and his associates sold the property to a group of Meridian, Mississippi businessmen. The hotel was torn down in the 1950s. In the mid 1960s, the new owners decided to convert the old resort property into a dude ranch, which is when the sign you see on the web page was erected. The dude ranch did not last all that long, and was sold to Dr. E. M. Gavin. There used to be a drinking fountain from the old spring across the highway from the restaurant.

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