Belknap Springs is an unincorporated

Unincorporated area

In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

 community and private hot spring

Hot spring

A hot spring is a spring that is produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater from the Earth's crust. There are geothermal hot springs in many locations all over the crust of the earth.-Definitions:...

s resort in Lane County

Lane County, Oregon

-National protected areas:*Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge *Siuslaw National Forest *Umpqua National Forest *Willamette National Forest -Government:...

, Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, near the McKenzie River

McKenzie River

The McKenzie River is a tributary of the Willamette River in western Oregon in the United States. It drains part of the Cascade Range east of Eugene and flows into the southernmost end of the Willamette Valley. It is named for Donald MacKenzie, a Scottish Canadian fur trader...

. The springs were located and initially developed by R. S. Belknap in 1869. A post office named "Salt Springs" was established in the location in 1874, and the name changed to "Belknap Springs" in 1875. The post office closed in 1877 and reopened in 1891, operating intermittently until 1953. Today the location uses a McKenzie Bridge

McKenzie Bridge, Oregon

McKenzie Bridge is an unincorporated community in Lane County, Oregon, United States, on the McKenzie River and within Willamette National Forest. It is located along Oregon Route 126, about 53 miles east of Eugene, between Rainbow and Belknap Springs...

 mailing address.

Belknap Hot Spring

Belknap Hot Spring itself is located across the McKenzie River from the resort at 44°11′39"N 122°3′4"W. The water is piped to the resort.

Touted as a mineral spa

Mineral spa

Mineral spas are resorts developed around naturally occurring mineral spring locales.- Origins :Spas grew in reputation in the nineteenth century on into the late middle-twentieth century for their purported healing or healthful benefits to those wealthy enough to partake of their waters...

in the late 19th century, since then the resort site has gone through several changes of ownership and had various improvements made to it, including the addition of a hotel (currently a lodge) and cabins, forming a summer resort community. The resort has been almost continuously open to the public since the 1870s, except for a period of closure from 1968-1978.

External links

• An Historical Guide to Belknap Hot Springs from Belknap Hot Springs, Spa and Gardens, current owners of the hot springs resort
• Belknap history from McKenzie Hot Springs Cottage (owned by descendants of original Belknap Springs owners)