Editing French Lick, Indiana (section)

== History ==
French Lick was originally a [[France|French]] [[trading post]] built near a spring and [[salt lick]]. A fortified ranger post was established near the springs in 1811. On Johnson's 1837 map of Indiana, the community was known as Salt Spring. The town was founded in 1857.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_EVQ0AQAAMAAJ | title=History of Lawrence, Orange, and Washington Counties, Indiana: From the Earliest Time to the Present | publisher=Higginson Book Company | year=1884 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_EVQ0AQAAMAAJ/page/n515 505]}}</ref> French Lick's post office has been in operation since 1847.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.postalhistory.com/postoffices.asp?task=display&state=IN&county=Orange | title=Orange County | publisher=Jim Forte Postal History | access-date=May 2, 2017}}</ref>

The [[sulfur]] springs were commercially exploited for medical benefits starting in 1840. By the latter half of the 19th century, French Lick was famous in the United States as a spa town. In the early 20th century it also featured casinos attracting celebrities such as boxer [[Joe Louis]], composer [[Irving Berlin]] and gangster [[Al Capone]].

Because of wartime travel restrictions, the [[Chicago Cubs]] and [[Chicago White Sox]] held [[spring training]] in French Lick from 1943 to 1944; in 1945 the Cubs stayed in town while the White Sox moved to Terre Haute, utilizing [[Memorial Stadium (Terre Haute)|Memorial Stadium]]. In order to conserve rail transport during [[World War II]], 1943 spring training was limited to an area east of the [[Mississippi River]] and north of the [[Ohio River]].<ref>Suehsdorf, A. D. (1978). ''The Great American Baseball Scrapbook'', p. 103. Random House. {{ISBN|0-394-50253-1}}.</ref>

The [[French Lick Resort Casino]] was the focal point of most of the entertainment; the hotel remained open well after the casinos were closed down and the heyday of the town was well past. The resort closed for renovation in 2005 and re-opened in 2006.

[[Pluto Water]], a best-selling laxative of the first half of the 20th century, was bottled here.<ref>{{Cite book |last=International |first=Rotary |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vEAEAAAAMBAJ&dq=French+Lick,+Indiana+laxative&pg=PA52 |title=The Rotarian |date=1936 |publisher=Rotary International |language=en}}</ref> It was also home to a large {{nowrap|[[7 Up]]}} bottling facility, which ceased operations in the mid-20th century.

[[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] announced his intention to run for president in June 1931 at a National Governors' Convention held at the French Lick Springs Hotel.<ref>{{cite web |last=|first=|title=History of French Lick Resort|url=https://www.frenchlick.com/history.htm#:~:text=During%20the%20National%20Governor's%20Conference,won%20the%20presidency%20in%201932.|date=February 18, 2019}}</ref>

In 2015, the Pete Dye Course at French Lick Resort played host to the [[Senior PGA Championship|KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship.]]

[[File:French Lick, Indiana.jpg|thumb|Photo from Small Town Indiana photo survey.]]