Ornkey Springs hotel linked to state and national history
article from shenandoah.com - photos by Peggy Thornton imagegrafx.com

Tucked away at the foot of Great North Mountain, the old Orkney Springs Hotel, now part of the Shrine Mont Camp and Conference Center, has enjoyed nearly 125 years of tradition that is uniquely entwined with the history of the state and nation.

The hotel's property was part of an original land grant from Charles II to Thomas Lord Culpeper, and early governor of Virginia. Among the Hotel's early owners was Light Horse Harry Lee, father of Civil War general and Virginia native Robert E. Lee.

During the Civil War, which ravaged the Shenandoah Valley, Confederate raiding parties were said to have stayed at Orkney Springs before leading attacks over North Black Mountain. Other soldiers were sent to Orkney to convalesce after long periods of hospital care.

By the end of the Civil War in 1865, three hotels were being operated in the Orkney Springs area, including the first of three buildings that would come to be known as the Orkney Springs Hotel.

Known as the Maryland House, the main hotel was finished in 1879 and contained 100 rooms. The hotel also had a porch and walkway that spanned the Orkney Grade to the building on the other side. As time went by, other lodgings came to be included in the hotel property.

As the resort grew, so did its reputation. The eight springs ? Bear Wallow Spring, Kelly Spring, Powder Spring, Alum Spring, Healing Spring, Freestone Spring, Arsenic Spring and Lithia Spring ? were credited with curing everything from rheumatism to bad hearts.

After several years of prosperity in the years following the Civil War, the hotel fell on hard times. In 1908, it was sold in a bankruptcy auction. In the 40 years that followed, the hotel continued to be insecure as the Great Depression fell on the nation. Some stability returned to the hotel with the tenure of Miles Portlock and his wife, Jacqueline, as owners in the 1940s. However, Mrs. Portlock still described those days as "lean time."

But happy days did come again. As the nation felt the effects of a secure economy, the American Symphony Orchestra League secured a home at the hotel for its annual conductors' workshop. Starting in 1959, the orchestra league arrived in July and stayed the remainder of the summer, providing beautiful melodies to enhance the natural charm of the Orkney Springs atmosphere.

In 1963, a group of Shenandoah Valley residents organized a concert series with the league's musicians, and the Shenandoah Valley Music Festival was born.

After a few years of concerts in Woodstock, the festival moved to the outdoor pavilion on the grounds of the hotel where it continues today.

In 1979, two years before his death, Portlock sold the hotel to the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia for use as a national conference center for churches. The diocese completed a two-year, five-phase renovation project to the old hotel building in 1987, just in time for the 25th anniversary of the Shenandoah Valley Music Festival.

The hotel, listed in the National Register of Historic Places, is open for the enjoyment of many generations to come. Shrinemont Camp and Conference Center continues to provide a gracious home for the Shenandoah Valley Music Festival.