If you're a Macomb County, Michigan history buff, you'll want to tune in at 9 p.m. tonight, September 28, to find out about Mount Clemens' history as a booming spa center. Clinton Township cable will air the locally produced 30-minute documentary, Mount Clemens: The Bath City of America, in recognition of the Historical Society of Michigan's 2007 State History Conference taking place this weekend at the Hyatt Place Hotel in Utica, Michigan. Playing host to the conference for the first time, Macomb County historians are set to showcase our county's rich history.

Known the world over as Bath City, Mount Clemens was an internationally acclaimed spa center from 1870 until the 1950s. The documentary was produced by Donald Green, a member of the Macomb County Historical Commission, with Cindy Sue Donahue, Macomb County staff historian, and Joseph Peruzzi, Clinton Township Deputy Media Director. It will be screened at the conference at 9 a.m. Sunday in conjunction with a talk by Green and Donahue on The Bath City Spa Industry.

Tourists from all over the world used to come to Mount Clemens to "take the waters." At its peak, Mount Clemens boasted 11 bath houses or spas with a host of hotels, speakeasies, gambling dens, boxing rings and brothels catering to the many tourists. A local mill owner credited bathing in the rich, salty mineral water with curing his eczema. Local physicians were soon prescribing bathing in the local mineral waters for patients with rheumatism and all manner of other ills. Mount Clemens physician Dr. Henry Taylor built the first bath house which pumped water from deep wells into large tubs. Always known as the Original, it was located on the southwest corner of today's McArthur Park.

Thousands of people a day would bathe in the mineral-rich waters. A bath cost 50 cents, 75 cents with an attendant. Masseuses often rubbed down as many as 2000 people a day. Originally fairly utilitarian, the bath houses gradually became more opulent with Italian marble and porcelain tubs to cater to the comfort of guests. For more information on Mount Clemens bath house history, click here.