Dr. Thomas Goode (born October 31, 1787 in Mecklenburg County, Virginia - died April 2, 1858 in Bath County, Virginia) was a Virginia physician who purchased the warm springs resort in Virginia and helped establish European style hydrotherapies there.
In 1832 Dr. Thomas Goode purchased the "Homestead" resort and spa, today called The Omni Homestead Resort, from the family of Thomas Bullitt. "He was a prominent physician and is responsible for the European style of many different spa therapies."[1]
He was also the author of several works on the healing powers of springs and waters.
"The one that was the proprietor during the heyday of the "Springs Tour" was Dr. Thomas Goode. He was a medical doctor trained in Philadelphia and Edinburgh. He toured the spas of Europe and applied that knowledge to the services he offered at the hot springs, including something he called a Spout Bath - "three to four inch columns of water falling for six feet" that was directed to massage the desired area of the body."[2]
"Thomas Goode was born in 1787 to Colonel Samuel Goode who was a member of the U.S. Congress from 1799-1801. Thomas moved to Bath County, Virginia, in 1833 and bought the Hot Springs which he built up with his wisdom and energy. He was the father of at least seven daughters and two sons, an enthusiastic politician, and buried near the Hot Springs Hotel."[3]
His grave is next to his wife, Mary A, Knox Goode, at the Presbyterian church in Hot Springs, Virginia. An inscription reads: "An Eminent Physician; Ever Strenuous and True; A Wise and Good Man; Without Fear and Without Reproach"[4]