Secrets of the Library of West Baden Springs Hotel

“….I love my family and my dog and the life I have built. My daughter turned 20 yesterday.”

There are many secrets and mysteries associated with West Baden Springs Hotel, but one of the sweetest ones can be found in the library.  So well hidden, in plain site, these secrets could take several visits to uncover. 

It’s no surprise that the library of this amazing resort, once considered one of the great wonders of the world, is a cozy comfortable spot to meet for conversations. It’s also well-known that the library is the place to hang out for great jazz music on the weekends. Such a fun spot to join everyone, seated in upholstered velvet, for what often becomes a sing along.

But, on to the hidden, IF you happen to climb the library’s ladder and look through a book or two – you’ll soon find messages left behind for you by guests from the past.  Not just one or two of these can be found – but MOST books actually have hidden notes.  

These hidden treasures include newspaper clippings, memories from past guests at West Baden.  Some are hand written prayers, hopes or wishes for the future. You won’t really find notes written in the books themselves, but on various types of paper tucked into their pages. You could actually spend hours looking through books and reading messages from the past.  

At West Baden, you’ll find no messages in bottles washed up on sandy shores – but you will find hidden mementos and voices that hoped you’d hear them someday, as a traveler who happens into a small library in the Indiana countryside.