An abandoned 19th-century Napa Valley resort on 857 acres is now on sale for $50 million

A Bay Area tech billionaire looking for a project with some history would be smart to look at the Napa Soda Springs Resort, which just went on the market for the first time in 40 years. 

Home to 27 mineral water springs, the property was once the site of a legendary resort. Historically, natural springs were seen as potential cure-alls, and resort towns popped up on spring sites around the country. By the 1930s, there were over 2,000 spring resorts in the US.  

At the same time, the owners of the resort also had a factory where they bottled and sold Napa Soda, and they won the exclusive rights to use the Napa name in court. In 1897, San Francisco saloons reportedly ran out of Napa Soda, necessitating overnight shifts at the factory to restock. The drink was a 19th century Bay Area food trend, an early precursor to kombucha and Soylent trends of today.

Here's some history about the resort, and photos of what remains on the site after over a century.