Harbin Hot Springs is a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

hot spring A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by circ ...

retreat and workshop center at Harbin Springs in Lake County,

Northern California Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...

. Named after Matthew Harbin, a pioneer who settled in the Lake County area. It is located about two hours northeast of the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

, in the United States. The facility was partially destroyed in the

Valley Fire The Valley Fire was a wildfire during the 2015 California wildfire season that started on September 12 in Lake County, California. It began shortly after 1:00 pm near Cobb with multiple reports of a small brush fire near the intersection of ...

in September 2015, and was temporarily closed. In January 2019 it partially reopened, including the main pools and sauna, and a limited cafeteria service.

Location

The springs are north of Calistoga, northwest of Middletown, and ten miles south of Clear Lake. They are at an elevation of about . Three springs, known as the Arsenic, Iron and Sulphur springs, rise close together in a ravine on the west of a branch of

Putah Creek Putah Creek (Patwin: ''Liwaito'') is a major stream in Northern California, a tributary of the Yolo Bypass, and ultimately, the Sacramento River. The creek has its headwaters in the Mayacamas Mountains, a part of the Coast Range, and flow ...

. The hills near Harbin Springs have steep slopes of exposed shale, but there is a belt of

amphibolite Amphibolite () is a metamorphic rock that contains amphibole, especially hornblende and actinolite, as well as plagioclase feldspar, but with little or no quartz. It is typically dark-colored and dense, with a weakly foliated or schistose (flaky ...

schist Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock showing pronounced schistosity. This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a low-power hand lens, oriented in such a way that the rock is easily split into thin flakes o ...

starting about above the springs.

Springs

A 1909 report said the Arsenic, Iron and Sulphur springs yielded water at temperaturesof , and at rates of , and respectively. A 1914 report listed the springs and their temperatures as: Hot Sulphur, ; Iron, ; Magnesia, ; Cold White Sulphur, ; Mud Foot Bath, in the water on top and in the mud and fine rocks below. The flow from Hot Sulphur was said to be . A fresh water spring filled a tank in two days, which was used for fire purposes.

History

The springs had been used by the local people before European settlers arrived. Around 1856 a settler named James M. Harbin took control of the land occupied by the Harbin Hot Springs, and gave his name to the Harbin Springs and the

Harbin Mountain Harbin Mountain is a mountain in Lake County, California. It may be seen as a high point on a spur of Boggs Mountain or as a connected mountain to the southeast of Boggs Mountain. Location Harbin Mountain is in Lake County, California. It is in ...

that rises above the springs. By 1870 a new owner, Richard Williams, had built the Harbin Springs Health and Pleasure Resort, with a large hotel on the slope below the springs. The region is prone to wildfires and, over the years, successive lodges have been rebuilt when they burned down. By 1909 there were accommodations for around 200 people in a hotel, a three-story rooming house, eight or ten cottages and a dozen tent houses. A large building held a gymnasium and dancing floor. In 1913 they were owned by Mrs. Margaret Matthews of Vallejo, who was leasing them to Booth, Carr and Booth. The resort could accommodate 300 people. There were two steam baths and two swimming pools, of which the larger was outdoors. One of the steam baths was a covered pool from the Hot Sulphur spring. Harbin Hot Springs issued several postcards advertising the resort in the 1920s and 1930s. By 1969 the property was owned by

Sandia Corporation Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), also known as Sandia, is one of three research and development laboratories of the United States Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). Headquartered in Kirtland Air Force Bas ...

, which was interested in the potential for geothermal energy. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the property was run as a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

with the name Harbinger commune, "centered around a man named Don Hamrick, a charismatic fellow who wore business suits and combined science with spiritualism in his lectures/sermons". In 1969, Harbinger had about 120 people, but ultimately, the community did not thrive. In 1972 Robert Hartley bought the property and renovated the run-down facilities. He sold it to Heart Consciousness Church in 1992. As of 2012, the clothing-optional retreat center was known as an outdoor spa with a

New Age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars conside ...

ambiance, where

Watsu Watsu is a form of aquatic bodywork used for deep relaxation and passive aquatic therapy. Watsu is characterized by one-on-one sessions in which a practitioner or therapist gently cradles, moves, stretches, and massages a receiver in chest-deep ...

was developed. The resort was evacuated because of the

on September 12, 2015. By September 14, Harbin was almost completely destroyed by the fire with only the pool complex largely intact. SunRay Kelly had designed and built the Harbin Hot Springs Temple, a yoga and meditation space, which burned down in 2015. In January 2019 it partially reopened, including the main pools and sauna, and a limited cafeteria service.

Modern establishment

Robert Hartley (also known as Ishvara) bought the land in 1972 to be a

Gestalt Gestalt may refer to: Psychology * Gestalt psychology, a school of psychology * Gestalt therapy, a form of psychotherapy * Bender Visual-Motor Gestalt Test, an assessment of development disorders * Gestalt Practice, a practice of self-exploration ...

center. Sold to the Heart Consciousness Church (HCC) in 1975, Harbin/HCC operates as a Retreat Center. Harbin/HCC maintains a more specifically religious organization, the New Age Church of Being, incorporated in 1996. Harbin is a center for the expression of

beliefs. Harbin's clothing-optional policy, its pools, and the natural beauty of the local landscape are part of Harbin's appeal to visitors, who must agree to membership, if only temporarily, for admission. Harbin has been a center for the development of new modes of healing and personal development, including

(water

shiatsu ''Shiatsu'' ( ; ) is a form of Japanese bodywork based on concepts in traditional Chinese medicine such as qi meridians. Having been popularized in the twentieth century by Tokujiro Namikoshi (1905–2000), ''shiatsu'' derives from the older ...

), a massage technique created by

Harold Dull Harold Dull (1935-2019) was an American aquatic bodyworker and poet best known as the creator of Watsu, originally developed in the early 1980s at Harbin Hot Springs, California. He is also known for his poetry, as founder of the Worldwide Aquat ...

at Harbin in the early 1980s. Watsu, based on gently moving the body through water, is now practiced in spas throughout the world.

References

Sources