New portrait, presidential history unveiled at Omni Homestead Resort

HOT SPRINGS, Va. (WFXR) — In honor of Presidents Day, The Omni Homestead hosted a weekend full of events and unveiled a portrait of former President Theodore Roosevelt.

Roosevelt served as the 26th President of the U.S. and his signature was recently discovered in a guest book belonging to The Pillars. This is a home adjacent to the resort grounds and is owned by its former General Manager, Frederic Sterry.

On Saturday, Feb. 17, about 200 guests gathered in the Great Hall for the unveiling of the portrait. During the ceremony, the managing director at the resort, Mark Spadoni shared that The Pillars was built in the early 1900s by Sterry.

He recalled that the house has its own history and last year, the current owners found a guestbook that features drawings and notable guests including Former President Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt was the 24th president to visit the resort.

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“Our resort has an incredible history, dating back to 1766, 10 years before the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Over the years, we have been able to document visits from 23 US presidents, from Thomas Jefferson soaking in the Warm Springs Pools in August 1818 to George W. Bush’s golf outing here in May 2015. Whether they were here in an official capacity or simply for rest and relaxation, these men made history here,” recalled Spadoni.

Along with signatures from renowned authors including Kate Douglas Wiggin and Edna Ferber, Charles Dana Gibson, Roosevelt’s autograph is included in the 17 pages of the guestbook. The book details the signature and drawings by guests who visited The Pillars in November and December of 1917.

During the resort’s Presidents Weekend, author Mark Will-Weber shared stories of presidential drinks. Guests were served Mint Juleps and the cocktail known as the Teddy Hat, or Rough Rider.

“TR [Teddy Roosevelt] liked to serve mint juleps courtside to his cabinet members who came to play tennis on the White House court. He got the tennis bug bad and used the juleps as an enticement to get his cabinet to hit a few shots & volleys. When Roosevelt ran against Taft and Wilson in 1912 they had a campaign cocktail called the Teddy Hat Cocktail,” said Will-Weber.

Other Presidents who visited The Omni Homestead resort included George Washington, William McKinley, William Taft, and President George W. Bush.

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