In 1972, Miller came across Wilbur Hot Springs, which was in terrible shape, badly vandalized and littered everywhere with junk. Wanting to relocate his practice to the country to develop a consciousness-raising community, he believed intensive psychotherapy in a residential setting would be more effective than short, timed sessions. Since the late 1960’s, Miller had operated a clinic in San Francisco known as the Gestalt Institute for Multiple Psychotherapy.

Miller was a San Francisco psychologist who had left teaching at the University of Michigan in order to study in California with Virginia Satir, the founder of family therapy, and with Fritz Perls, the originator of Gestalt Therapy. Richard Louis Miller became associated with Wilbur. Through the decades, the property continued to change hands, first to the Barker Family and then to the Sutcliff Family. Cuthbert, built the existing concrete hotel, which was one of the first poured concrete buildings in California.

In 1915, the decrepit cabins were razed and Wilbur’s then-owner, J.W. Post Office (in service until 1945) and was used as a way-station for the local stagecoach. With its ramshackle Fluminariums and neglected cabins, there was “no hotel worthy of the name” at Wilbur. A mile down the road, Sulphur Creek featured a resort and gold mining village. To get there, guests would travel on the Southern Pacific Railroad to Williams, then travel 22 miles to the springs, a four-hour trip by stagecoach.īy 1891, however, Wilbur’s fortunes were in decline due to an absentee owner and a better hotel at Sulphur Creek Village. Wilbur Springs was known for its scalding hot water springs “unexcelled for certain diseases” that boiled up over an area of 100 square feet. By the 1880s, the European-style health resort reached its heyday. Meanwhile, the reputation of the “miraculous cures” of Sulphur Creek continued to grow. Later that year, Wilbur Hot Sulphur Springs was sold to Marcus Marcuse of Marysville. Within eight months, Wilbur purchased Howell’s share of the property for $200, built a wood-frame hotel and announced the opening of Wilbur Hot Sulphur Springs in 1865. Formed to mine copper along Sulphur Creek, their partnership was soon disbanded when copper ore proved difficult to treat and decreased in value. In 1863, Ezekial Wilbur and Edwin Howell purchased a 640-acre ranch for $1,500. Often the journey was long and arduous, requiring travel by boat, train, and stage coach.Įuropean settlers were attracted to the Wilbur Hot Springs area because of the minerals found in the land-initially copper, sulfur, and quicksilver, and later gold.

Throughout America in the late 1800s, hot springs were popular among those who could afford to travel to and stay at fashionable hot springs.

General Bidwell went back to San Francisco and Chico (where he owned the best known farm in California) and spread the word of these healing waters. Bidwell brought his man to the waters where he was miraculously cured. Local Native Americans told him about a source of powerful curative waters, later to be known as Wilbur Hot Springs. According to local lore, wealthy congressman General John Bidwell was searching for gold in 1863 when one of his men became critically ill. Before European settlers came, the mineral hot springs were used by the Patwin, Pomo, Wintun and Colusi-Native American inhabitants of Northern California’s Coast Range mountains. Wilbur Hot Springs’ history goes back further than we know.

Wilbur hot springs