Submit your story

Do you have a story or memory about an old well or spring you have visited…or is there a location you want to share? We would love to hear it…

29 thoughts on “Submit your story

  1. There is a free flowing water well on north State Road 13 between Pierceton and North Webster Indiana.šŸ™‚

    1. Thanks for sharing Deborah, I have a few photos of it on the Kosciusko County page – all the best to you! – Kay

  2. Iā€™m looking for pictures and I formation on the well in Pittsburg , Indiana 46923 . When it was first done , pictures of it with the roof I believe it had over it

    1. Hi Sherry,
      Thanks for posting, and I wish I had some info to give you on the history of the well, but I know very little. Can I ask why you are researching it? I am interested in the history as well and would love to know what you learn about it! – Kay

    2. Hi Jo,
      Sorry its taken me this long to see your comment, but I want to thank you for leaving your post! Hope you are staying well! – Kay

  3. I actually found your website while searching for information on artesian wells since I found a flowing artesian well yesterday in southern Monroe county Indiana and was curious about the geology in the area, since I had found another one nearby in the past. I followed the water and it eventually flows into Sanders quarry, though during drier times it doesn’t make it that far. An old timer in the unincorporated town of Sanders (near Smithville) told me that there are quite a few springs in that area. He showed me the old well that was used by the town prior to having indoor plumbing. It is now in the treeline between someone’s backyard and the quarry property.

    1. P.S. If you are ever planning to be in the area, I’d be glad to show you the wells, just shoot me an email!

    2. Hi Sally,
      I used to live near there, in Harrodsburg! There were two springs near where I lived. If I get down that way this summer I will try to connect with you – and thanks for your comments and kind offer –

  4. Hi Kay,
    I would like you to tell you that the South Shore of Lake Superior is a jewel for artesian wells and if you ever come up this way, you will have plenty of wells to photograph. Basically any residence along the shore of Lake Superior has artesian conditions and to most people in the are who are accustomed to haul water from artesian wells everyday is normal and not a novelty like other places. Thank you for your time.

    1. Hello and thank you Christian – I would love to travel up that way and explore any public artesian wells that are in use. Right now time and $$ are keeping me from making all the trips I would love to do. Thanks for contributing to this site – Kay

  5. I had a co-worker stop by the well in Morgan County, it appears to be close to a road with a gravel parking area, he drew me a map of how to find it and I have lost it. Can anyone help. I recall it was just off of Hwy 37 South, or Hwy 67 South. Ant help would be appreciated. Thanks.

  6. Hello, I will be collecting water in a sacred way during the next 3 weeks. Do you provide directions to some of these wells? I am particularly interested in the springs at Mudlavia, and In Independence.
    Thank you so much for doing this. I did not know there were so many wells in Indiana still in existence. The sound of the water flowing is very moving, very sweet to hear. I live in Lafayette – do you know of any springs here?
    Again, thank you.

    1. I too am looking for a well in Lafayette, have you found anything Kathy? I have been living in Olympia Washington for the past decade and drinking nothing but water from the Artesian well right downtown there. All walks of life gather to collect and drink from it, the proverbial watering-hole of the “urban forest” if you will. I attended 2 years ago a water blessing ceremony led by Dr. Emoto and a few of the 13 Grandmothers, hundreds of the community were in attendance to bless and sing to the well…

      I’d rather not post my email here, maybe Kay could connect our emails sometime, and we could share stories over a cup this spring…

      Thank you for your work here Kay. I can’t wait to hear, and taste, water that crackles like fire…

  7. I was surprised that your collection of artesian wells of Indiana did not include a very nice well near tiny Spartanburg, Indiana (not far from where I grew up).
    The well is on the South side of the road just East of town (1/4 mile east of the main intersection). This particular artesian well is in a small but well cared for public park. The water is open to the public and the water quality is excellent. The drain under the outflow pipe feeds an underground water tank which the local fire department can use to fill their firetruck.
    Google maps tells me the address is:ā€Ž
    7025-7115 E 700 S
    Lynn, IN 47355

    Something for you to check out on your next Indiana wander.

    1. Hello Robert, thanks for this info, I would love to visit this well, this part of Indiana seems to be very rich in wells! Hopefully I can fit in another visit to that part of the state soon – All the best! Kay

  8. 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?

    1. 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 –

  9. 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.

  10. 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

  11. 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

  12. 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.

  13. 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

  14. 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.

  15. 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.

    1. 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 –

  16. 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.

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