Spring House 1882

Black and white photograph of the decorative Springhouse structure in the Woodstock Square Park, Woodstock, Illinois.   There are people posing inside the structure and the  square park is filled with shady elm trees.

Title

Spring House 1882

Description

Spring House was built in 1873 for $600 to attract visitors from Chicago. Charles Lemmers, who came to Woodstock in 1848, was the contractor. The 1937 Woodstock Sentinel said that it was in a style much in vogue at that time.
This photo is dated 1882 by Modelle McCoy (Medlar granddaughter and keeper of the negatives).
The iron fountain is visible in the center.
Diagonal wooden sidewalks are visible (need to see if they were built at the same time as the fountain).
The fences are single wide board with wire strung between posts rather than the three-board original fences from 1857.
From the Square Sesquicentennial 1994 history p.7:
The Spring House was built in 1873 as an "ornamental feature" of the park to shelter the mineral water pump that received water from the well located in the southeast corner of the park.
Designed and built by Cornelius Florentius Lemmers, its design was inspired by buildings at the centennial exposition in Philidelphia, Pennslvania.
"Every scroll and bracket upon it was wrought by hand," according to a letter from Chas. A. Lemmers in 1840 (sic). "While it stood there, it became the trysting place, not only for the people of the city and its visitors, but to the lovers of the city, who visited it for refreshment after much visiting and discussion on the seats of the park."
Victorians traveled by train from Chicago to drink the mineral waters, following nearly the same path that the Indians had walked to obtain its medicinal properties. The water contained bicarbonate of soda, lime, magnesia, and iron, as well as sulphurated hydrogen.
A study by Rush Medical College of Chicago in 1879 found the water to be mildly alkaline which was valuable in diseases of the stomach, bowels and kidneys. The water also contained iron.
The original Spring House stood until the 1930s. A replica was built in 1976 as a Bicentennial project by the Woodstock Business and Professional Women. The medicinal spring has been capped, but a water fountain was added to give the proper atmosphere.

Date

1882

Citation

Medlar Studios, Woodstock, “Spring House 1882,” Woodstock Public Library Archives, accessed November 7, 2024, https://woodstockpubliclibraryarchives.omeka.net/items/show/358.

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