Located in Anderson, Roane, and Morgan County, Oliver Springs was founded in 1830 as Winter's Gap, named for its first white settler, Major Moses Winter. The land around Oliver Springs had been used for centuries by Native Americans as Indian hunting ground and, as a campsite, but it was its natural mineral springs and abundance of wildlife on Windrock Mountain that encouraged them to stay. The springs, whose reputation for miraculous medicinal properties lasted until the 20th century, where known as "Tah-hah-lehaha" to the Cherokee, a name meaning "healing waters." The land remained unexplored until 1761, when Elisha Walden traveled through the Clinch and Powell River valleys. Settlement in the area did not begin in earnest until the 1790s. Major Moses Winter was the first settler and, the town was known as Winter's Gap in his honor. Growth remained slow, but by 1826, Richard Oliver became the town's first postmaster. The town was re-named Oliver's in his honor, then to briefly to Poplar Springs, and then to Oliver Springs. Richard Oliver provided mail service from his 35-room mansion, which also served as an inn. He was the first to develop the commercial potential of the mineral springs by transporting his guests to the springs from the inn. The inn was used as a hospital by both sides during the Civil War. Joseph Richards bought Oliver's land in 1873. he built the first resort hotel, which was replaced in 1894, when a palatial 150-room hotel with modern amenities opened, and Oliver Springs became a popular resort town. The Oliver Springs Hotel catered to wealthy guests, who came from all over the nation to drink the waters and bathe in the springs. The railroad came to Oliver Springs in 1888, and brought thousands of visitors to the springs. The magnificent hotel burned in 1905, but evidence of water conduits and reservoirs can still be seen on the site. The recently restored Oliver Springs Railroad Depot now houses the Oliver Springs Public Library.