1866

John Beck and his bride, Sarah, settled in Lehi. After raising sheep and manufacturing charcoal for one year, he accumulated sufficient capital to build a large, two-story adobe home here at 791 N. 100 East.

Beck and fellow German immigrants in his employ frequently picnicked in the shade of the apple orchard and bathed in the Warm Springs near the shores of Utah Lake in what is today Saratoga Springs. Visions of a spa patterned after the famous Saratoga Resort in New York began to develop in Beck’s mind.

1884

In 1884, with some of the wealth he had accrued from his Bullion-Beck mine in the Tintic District, the entrepreneur purchased more than 1000 acres of land on Utah Lake. He named the 27 acres immediately surrounding the hot springs, “Beck’s Saratoga Springs.”

One thousand people attended the formal opening of Saratoga Springs on July 24, 1884. In the resort’s first formal announcement, it boasted plunge baths, rowboat and sailboat rentals, a racetrack, baseball grounds and shooting galleries.

1893

An 1893 Lehi Banner advertisement for Beck’s Saratoga Springs touted, “A pleasant ride and a plunge in these health-giving waters will cure ‘that tired feeling’.”

(Lehi Banner, Oct. 5, 1893, p.4)

1894

The July 5, 1894, Lehi Banner announced that resort manager, George Beck, put in a dancing floor and picnic tables in the center of the three-acre apple orchard. The July 26, 1894, Lehi Banner listed rules and regulations and stated, “If you cannot obey our Rules, we do not want your money.”

1897

While most went to Saratoga for recreation, many went for health reasons. The waters were claimed to be superior to any other in the state for their medicinal properties. Professor A. Siebert, a graduate of Heidelberg University in Germany, commercially bottled the water, calling it “Saratoga Salvation,” for “internal application.”

1900

John Beck sold Saratoga to the Utah Sugar Company on May 25, 1900. The sugar company used the fertile 1000-acre Saratoga farm for growing sugar beets. Management of the resort was initially placed in the hands of John Y. Smith, then, in 1901, Edward Southwick took over management of the farm and resort.

(Van Wagoner, R. S. 1990. Lehi Portraits of an Utah Town. Lehi City Corp., p 287.)

1914

Austin Brothers and Austin and Sons Sheep companies bought the property for $60,000, with the intention of selling lakefront lots to Salt Lakers “at fancy prices.” Though the real estate plans were spirited and well-planned, interest never materialized. Despite the failure, the resort thrived and in 1916, a new 50 foot by 150-foot outdoor pool and numerous bath houses were built. In time, dance floors and dances, picnic tables, a chicken ranch, outdoor pool, bath houses, candy booths, row boats and new tents for campers were offered.

(Van Wagoner, R. S. 1990. Lehi Portraits of a Utah Town. Lehi City Corporation. p 288.

1920s

1930s

In 1930, Frank H. Eastmond, operator of the popular Geneva Resort on the east side of Utah Lake, announced that he had purchased an interest in the Saratoga Resort and would manage it during the upcoming season. Ambitious remodeling was undertaken. The most dramatic of improvements were three new hot water wells, which were piped into the pools, and the installation of a large capacity filtering unit in each pool. The system proved to be so efficient that “now the bottom can be seen in every part of either pool.” In the years Frank managed the pool, there were no drownings.

(Van Wagoner, R. S. 1990. Lehi Portraits of a Utah Town. Lehi City Corporation. p 289. Photo courtesy of Daniel Eastmond.)

1950s

During the 1950s, numerous city recreation organizations began bussing children to Saratoga Resort. Thousands of Utahns learned to swim through these programs. In 1963, Mick Eastmond became sole manager of the resort, though other family members remained stockholders in the corporation.

1968

In the spring of 1968 Saratoga-lovers were stunned by a $100,000 fire at the resort. Lost in the flames were two historic wood buildings: the main facility built when Edward Southwick was manager of the resort and the dance pavilion built in 1927. Resort operator Mick Eastmond quickly had the debris removed, and the resort was ready for its Memorial Day opening three weeks later. Although the indoor pool would not be re-covered, new dressing rooms were built. In addition to the four outdoor pools, Saratoga still offered abundant camping and picnic areas, a midway with 35 rides and games, a miniature golf course, Utah Lake cruises, complete boat launching facilities and a new recreation area built on the site of the old pavilion.

1979

In 1979, a new, 350-foot “Kamikaze” waterslide thrilled resort goers.

(Van Wagoner, p 291.)

1983

The park was severely damaged in the floods of 1983, and ultimately, it closed in 1993. The resort was owned by the Eastmond family for more than 60 years. The Kamikaze waterslide was moved to the Lehi Outdoor Pool and remained there until it was demolished in 2011.