I apologize to the list but Norma's mail keeps kicking out on fatal error. She's looking for this Spring-- Coyner Springs Located on SR 660 just off US 460 just inside the Botetourt County line eight miles east of Roanoke. Coyner Springs has had many spellings--Coyner, Conner and Coiner. It was a white elephant to the city of Roanoke, but today it is the site of the Roanoke City Nursing Home and the Roanoke Juvenile Detention Home. The history of the springs mirrors in part the history of the Roanoke area and dates back to 1770 when John Howard was granted 325 acres. In 1836 George Cointer acquired 165 acres of the original purchase. He died in 1843 and his wife retained 26 acres including the springs. The springs had only local use until 1851 when Fleming James purchased the property and built a hotel and cottages. The Virginia and Tennessee Railroad was built near the resort shortly afterward and, to increase its business, the company built a station at the springs. To attract more patrons, James dubbed the different springs: the White, the Blue, the Black and Chalybeate--thereby claiming for one resort the virtues ascribed to many. In 1886, the resort was purchased by William Frye, whose son, Dr. William Frye, was an early Roanoke physician. Life at the resort followed an established routine consisting of strolls to the various springs to drink the water, croquet games, cards and dancing at night. The cottages were furnished with Spartan severity and the unpainted, unpapered, glaring white walls and ceilings were cheerless. There was a damp odor that seemed to permeate everything. Along with Blue Ridge Springs, Coyner was patronized mainly by people from the Roanoke and the southwest Virginia areas. By the time of the First World War, the hotel was in bad shape and was torn down. In the 1920's a New York man tried to revive the area but met with only slight success. Some years later the City of Roanoke came into possession of the property, and in 1939 the present nursing home was built as a tuberculosis sanitorium. The last tuberculosis patient was moved out in 1956 and the building stood empty until the City of Roanoke established the nursing home in 1958. Today the old resort is peopled by senior citizens and junveniles who can look out over some magnificent scenery from its 124 acres of rolling hills. Doris