Fontville, was the name of a town planned to be at the current day location of

Sweet Springs, West Virginia Sweet Springs is an unincorporated community in Monroe County in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Sweet Springs lies at the intersection of West Virginia Route 3 and West Virginia Route 311. The community is known for its Sweet Springs Resort and ...

. The town was brainchild of William Lewis, brother of

Andrew Lewis Andrew Lewis may refer to: Law and politics * Sir Andrew J. W. Lewis (1875-1952), Scottish businessman and politician; Lord Provost of Aberdeen * Andrew L. Lewis Jr. (1931–2016), American railroad executive and US Secretary of Transportation *And ...

and Thomas Lewis. On December 16, 1790, Section Three of an Act of Assembly in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

set forth the following: Thirty acres of land on the southeast side of Sweet Springs in

Botetourt County, Virginia Botetourt County ( ) is a US county that lies in the Roanoke Region of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Located in the mountainous portion of the state, the county is bordered by two major ranges, the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Appalachian Moun ...

, which was the property of William Lewis, would be vested in

James Breckinridge James Breckinridge (March 7, 1763May 13, 1833) was a Virginia lawyer and politician and a member of the Breckinridge family. He served in the Virginia House of Delegates, as well as the U.S. House of Representatives. He also fought in the Ame ...

, Martin McFerran, Henry Bowyer, Matthew Harvey, John Beal, John Wood, John Smith, Robert Harvey, John Hawkins, Thomas Madison, and Sampson Sawyers. This land was to be laid off into

lots Lot or LOT or The Lot or ''similar'' may refer to: Common meanings Areas *Land lot, an area of land *Parking lot, for automobiles *Backlot, in movie production Sets of items *Lot number, in batch production *Lot, a set of goods for sale together ...

of half an acre each with convenient streets and established into a town to be called "Fontville". The lots were then going to be advertised in the ''

Virginia Gazette ''The Virginia Gazette'' is the local newspaper of Williamsburg, Virginia. Established in 1930, it is named for the historical ''Virginia Gazette'' published between 1736 and 1780. It is published twice a week in the broadsheet format. Historical ...

'' for two months and sold at

public auction In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

. The purchaser was then expected to build within five years from the day of purchase. Houses were to be at least sixteen feet square and have stone chimneys. The trustees were responsible for settling any boundary disputes and making rules about house building. Further sections of the Act of Assembly stated that no person would be allowed to own more than two lots and that nothing in the sections authorized the trustees to sell the land on which William Lewis built his

courthouse A courthouse or court house is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English-spe ...

tavern A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roast meats and cheese, and (mostly historically) where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern that h ...

. The reason the town never sprang into existence is unknown but that did not stop William Lewis from continuing his dreams of expansion. He ended up developing an extremely successful

resort A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that tries to provide most of a vacationer's wants, such as food, drink, swimming, lodging, sports, entertainment, and shopping, on the premises. The term ''resort ...

Sweet Springs Resort Sweet Springs Resort and spa was founded in Sweet Springs, West Virginia, United States in 1792. Once known as Old Sweet Springs, this historic resort hotel is currently undergoing renovation by the Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Sweet Springs ...

, and tried to entice the circuit court to relocate there by finishing a

and

jail A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...

on the property.Morton, Oren F. (1980) ''History of Monroe County West Virginia''; Regional Publishing Company pg.201-203 File:Sweet Springs, General View, State Route 311, Sweet Springs, Monroe County, WV HABS WVA,32-SWESP,1-1.tif, Sweet Springs, General View File:Sweet Springs Hotel, State Route 311, Sweet Springs, Monroe County, WV HABS WVA,32-SWESP,4-1.tif, Main building " Sweet Springs Hotel", State Route 311, Sweet Springs in 1933

References

{{authority control Planned communities in the United States Populated places in Monroe County, West Virginia Spa towns in West Virginia