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Old Sweet Springs is known as the Jefferson Place by many of the locals due to the belief that the main building from the 1830s was designed by Thomas Jefferson himself. The resort was well known in its time and was visited by many famous people including George Washington, James Madison, Franklin Pierce, Martin Van Buren, Millard Fillmore, Marquis de Lafayette, and Robert E. Lee. The current buildings of the resort were constructed in 1833. Due to its remote location, the resort closed its doors in 1930 and remained vacant for several years before the state of West Virginia purchased it in 1941. The resort was then turned into a home for the elderly and was renamed the Andrew S. Rowan Memorial Home. The old-people's home closed in 1993. After sitting uninhabited for nearly six years, the old Sweet Springs Resort Park in Gap Mills is now undergoing major renovations in an attempt to preserve history and offer the property for the public to enjoy. Entrepreneur and visionary preservationist, Ashby Berkley, won the property during a November 2015 auction. He said his goal is to preserve history.