Do you have a story or memory about an old well or spring where you live(d)…or is there one you want to tell us about? We would love to hear it…
Well Stories
A project about public water sources and the people who use them.
This project is made possible, in part, with support from the Indiana Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. All content © Kay Westhues 
My neighbor at Meeker Park, Colorado saw your web site and sent me the link so I could check it out. We drilled a well at our new home site in the Rocky Mountains (8600 ft. elevation) and found it to be an interesting operation, as did our neighbors. The driller, with his high-tech rig, drilled 470 ft. deep in an effort to get an adequate source of water for household use. There was no assurance when he started drilling that the spot we chose would result in a satisfactory yield. We rejoiced when water was reached at 340 feet, but the yield was only 1 gallon per minute, so the driller continued to drill, hoping for more. But going deeper did not bring forth more water. Even so, 1 gal per minute was enough for our needs, so a pump was installed near the bottom of the drill hole, and we left for the winter. A month or so later our neighbor, who frequently observes and photographs interesting things in the area, checked our new well head and found water trickling out the top. Lo and behold, the well was artesian, despite the fact that the water had to come from 340 feet, or thereabouts. Apparently the water which infiltrates into the soil on Meeker Mountain slopes finds its way down through layers of granite until it moves laterally over a less permeable layer. Our driller apparently tapped through one of these zones of flow and intercepted water that was under hydraulic pressure from its confinement between granite rock layers. This was exciting for us, but there was a down side. Concerns about contamination of the well, from surface layers which are reached by water coming from depths, require a special, expensive cap on the well, or alternatively, an outflow pipe at about 6 ft. depth, to carry emerging water away from the well head. We chose the latter. The well has produced wonderful drinking water for five years, with no need for treatment of any kind.
Documenting the old wells is a great idea, a connection with our ancient Mother Earth. Here are 2. First, south of Noblesville, north side of Carmel. In a park-like setting maintained, I think, by the City of Carmel. A well with something like 16 ever-flowing spigots. What I found interesting was that Carmel, a very sophisticated, fast-growing community of ex-urbanites, would have this very old community well, drawing in a lot of people from what is left of the countryside around Carmel. It is well used. Second well is in Illinois, perhaps 20 miles west of Indiana on US Highway 24, a little more than halfway between Crescent City and Gilman, on the south side of the road. This one is very rustic and, I am told, was on the Butterfield Trail which was used to take cattle to market in Chicago. Also very well used by local folks.
Thanks Bob, I have visited the Carmel well many times, I find it fascinating too – something keeps bringing me back…now I have to make the trip to Illinois to see the second one you mentioned – sounds like it has some good history -
This from last year when I was re-tracing John Muir’s 1,000 mile walk from Louisville, Kentucky, to Cedar Key, Florida. The spring in Augusta was a favorite story: June 21, 2009
June 21 – Augusta
Category: Travel and Places
… I was up with the sun, trying to beat whatever weather might come into town. I’d been “pushing it” with my water consumption and was down to my last swallow when I saw the sign for the firehouse. Though it wasn’t yet 8 a.m., I knew someone would be awake, and the firefighters were happy to invite me in for coffee, chit-chat and the usual cautions.
They wouldn’t let me drink their water though: “Heck, there’s an artesian well just a block away, and the water is cool and good,” they said (usual paraphrasing – I didn’t take notes nor bring a tape recorder with me).
I took their advice and the directions that have landed me here admiring stucco and the tops of palm trees. The spring was quite the treat, gushing out of a PVC pipe that stuck from the side of a small brick building. The water, which poured into a pool with tiny minnows before streaming off down the hill, was cool and tastes good. The building was painted with a non-warning: “This is good water.”
As I finished topping off my last bottle, a little white car pulled in, and a brightly dressed woman stepped out: fuzzy pink top, long flowered pink skirt not too sheer to be decent. She slipped off her silver heels into white clogs and began to unload the first of maybe 30 empty plastic juice jugs from the trunk of her car. “I come either before or after church,” she explained and headed for the spring. She waved and honked later when she passed me on the road.
This takes me back when I spend some time in Augusta, during our re-tracing of John Muir’s 1000 Mile walk to the Gulf. Thanks Lisa and good to know your still out there, but in a different place?
Wil
I forwarded the NYTimes article to my mom who is 76. Here’s her reply:
“The well they are talking about is the one that is north and a little west of where Gma & Gpa C*** lived on 98th st.
We were by there just the other day.”
Your photography project is a fabulous idea. The aquifer water in Indiana, whether from springs or deep wells, is the best in the world. My late in-laws had a deep well in Cloverdale IN and the water was always cold and delicious.
Continued best wishes with your project.
Much thanks Sandra -
Hi, I used to drink from an artesian well in the Irvington neighborhood of Indianapolis, in the 1960’s. It was located on Hill Street at East Pleasant Run Parkway. http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl
It was flowed freely from the corner house into the street. It had an unusual smell, but tasted clean and always very cold.
Hope this is useful. Regards, Martha
Thanks Martha,
I’ll be curious to see if it is still there – Kay
I just wanted to thank you for putting this together. It is beautiful and has really inspired me. I’m going to track down some of the wells out here in Idaho. Are you going to expand this to cover wells outside of the midwest? I’d be willing to share if so!
Thanks,
Adam
concrescence.us
Thank you Adam, please keep me posted on what you find – Kay
There is a well on the south side of Route 79, just west of the village of Lyle, New York. There is a large parking area and the well, which comes out of the side of the hill, has had a pipe attached and it is easy to fill containers and jugs. The area is visited by locals as well as some people pasing by on their way from Interstate 81 to Cornell University. I do not know the history of the well, but the water is cold and great.
There at at least two in Madison county that I’m aware of. One is just off I69 west on 800N to the first road north, less than a mile north. The second is north of Frankton at the SE corner of the intersection of two county roads…can someone help me remember exactly where?
Hello MR – If you visit the map page now, you will see more wells listed for Madison County. There was a glitch in the site and only one well was showing up per county. This is fixed now -