Spotlight On: Sharon Springs Annual Spring Awakening

SHARON SPRINGS — Sharon Springs looks like it’s been plucked straight out of a storybook — 19th century storefronts, Queen Anne homes, ornate pavilions and a history steeped in healing waters. The historic spa village seamlessly blends 19th-century nostalgia with updated artisan shops. A Victorian-era spa town frozen in time, Sharon Springs’ story began in the mid-1800s, as New York’s response to Europe’s grandest spa resorts. Visitors from New York City, Boston, and further afield, flocked to its mineral-rich waters - filled with sulfur, magnesia, chalybeate, and blue‑stone springs - to try out their healing powers. Summer visitors regularly numbered over 10,000, including the Vanderbilts and even Oscar Wilde, who came to “take the waters” and mingle at lavish Victorian hotels like the Pavilion and Adler. The waters themselves were legendary: one 19th-century traveler wrote that one of the springs, Gardner Spring, turned creeks “white as milk” and transformed objects in its path into deep black or brilliant white hues. Today, the Sharon Springs Historic District preserves 167 historic buildings across 374 acres, many of which you can visit today. Key landmarks include the Magnesia Temple (1863), the Inhalation Bath House (1884), and the Roseboro Hotel (1905) Despite a steady decline during the Great Depression, Sharon Springs has quietly reinvented itself. Thoughtful entrepreneurs and boutique owners have restored grand hotels and Victorian storefronts, creating a modern layer of charm atop its historic foundation. The town gained international attention with Beekman 1802. Flagship store, the Beekman 1802 Kindness Shop, features handcrafted skincare, and farm-inspired luxuries inside a lovingly restored building.

Blending heritage with upscale design, town favorites include Cobbler & Co., The Black Cat Café, Austintacious Chocolates, Fine Dried Florals, EH Rural Provisions, McGillycuddy’s Natural Soap & Brimstone Bakery.

Each year the eagerly awaited Sharon Springs Spring Awakening sees local shops and restaurants in the historic village celebrate the start of the season and their reopening.The event features community-focused activities and welcomes visitors to enjoy the town's revival after a drawn-out winter. 

This year’s Spring Awakening takes place on April 18, 10-4 pm. Each shop will boast their own Spring celebration. Have fun hunting for eggs filled with hidden prizes, sample handcrafted chocolates and hand-dipped peeps, create origami paper flowers, see what spring holds for you with Barbara Kraft Tarot Card readings, enjoy live music, and get spring shopping for gifts with guest stalls including local artisan, Satchel homewares. There is a special brunch and a jewelry pop up at Brimstone Bakery, a chance to meet the award-winning silkie chickens and Beekman 1802 Baby Goat Tours (tickets required) See you there!