Fountain Flat Drive, Marshall's Hotel Group
In his book The Geysers of Yellowstone, T. Scott Bryan has introduced Marshall's Hotel Group to integrate some widespread features along the east section of Fountain Flat Drive. The name of the group goes back to the old Marshall's Hotel, which was located 160 m (525 feet) southwest of present Nez Perce Picnic Area just across the road from Hygeia Spring and was knocked down in 1895. Usually, a vistor will only come across the quiet Maiden's Grave Spring directly on the bank of Firehole River. Twilight Geyser lies far out in the flat beyond the river and is a very rare performer. Hygeia Spring, next to the roadway some hundred yards to the east, is not visible since it is located on top of a high sinter mound, where access is not permitted.
Maiden's Grave Spring is secured by a wooden fence, which admittedly already got a bit long in the tooth. But even the fence could not prevent all accidents as became apparent on October 4th, 2021, when a 20-year-old woman from Washington state tried to rescue her unleashed dog, who had rushed into the spring. By entering the 88 °C (190 °F) hot spring the woman suffered significant thermal burns to 90 % of her body from her shoulders to feet. Fortunately, her father succeeded in pulling her out of the hot water after approximately 8 seconds so she survived, in contrast to her unlucky pet. Accidents like this are the reason why the NPS does not allow pets, even if leashed, in thermal areas.
The spring is named after the more than 100 years old grave of Mattie S. Culver, who died from tuberculosis at the age of 30 at Marshall's Hotel in Yellowstone. Her gravestone reads: "MATTIE S. Wife of E.C.CULVER, DIED March 2, 1889, AGED, 30 YEARS.". The grave lies at some distance to Maiden's Grave Spring between Nez Perce Picnic Area in the north and the old hotel site in the south.
