MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. (WXYZ) — Two years ago, a Mount Clemens spa owner purchased the city's last operable mineral well on Park Street and is planning a groundbreaking within 30 days.
Watch Evan Sery's video report:
Mount Clemens earned its nickname "Bath City" for a reason — and one local business owner is working to bring that history back.
Lois Lombardo, owner of Olympia Salon & Spa in Mount Clemens, purchased the city's last operable mineral well two years ago. She says a groundbreaking for a new bathhouse is expected within 30 days.
What might look like a random, unassuming shed in the middle of Mount Clemens is actually the site of one of the city's most important and unique pieces of history.
Lombardo says the mineral-rich water beneath the city has ancient origins.
"There was an ocean here, and the ocean dissipated."
She says that the ocean left behind something remarkable.
"And it left a reservoir, what they call the Michigan basin; this happened over 400 million years ago."
The result, she says, is a virtually limitless supply of natural minerals.
"There's an unending supply of these rich mineral salts."
The water pumped from the well contains calcium, magnesium, and potassium — visible as sediment settled at the bottom of a recently filled container.
Lombardo says the finished bathhouse will feature all glass windows and 8 private soaking rooms — a state-of-the-art facility and a nod to the city's rich bath history.
"I'm not reinventing the wheel; this is what was going on here starting in the late 1800s."
Marie McDougal, author of Mount Clemens Bath City, U.S.A., says the city was once a destination for celebrities and presidents alike, home to a dozen mineral bath houses during the 19th and 20th centuries.
"Babe Ruth, Mae West — Mae West had her own bathtub."
McDougal says visitors would make extended stays in the city just to take advantage of the baths.
"They would come here, and live in the hotels, and they would take the baths every day, with a massage."
She says the mineral baths have had a personal impact on her own health.
"It has done so much for me, not only for my dry skin, but I also have fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue, it has helped with the pain, with the exhaustion."
For Lombardo, the project is about more than business — it's about preserving an identity.
"That's why the town still carries the nickname, Bath City."
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