I can’t remember exactly how I first heard about the flowing well that feeds into Village Brook along the Madison–Hancock County line. Nevertheless, I tracked it down on April 4, 2020, and it’s stuck with me ever since. I couldn’t resist a return visit when I happened to be in the area again this past weekend, and I’m happy to report it’s still flowing cold and strong.
I named this particular flowing well after Village Brook when I first came across it. That’s the stream it spills into on the Hancock County side. Just north of the well, the brook crosses into Madison County and suddenly becomes Ham Ditch. It ducks back into Hancock County a short while later and meanders southwest until it joins Sugar Creek. From there, the water keeps moving on to the Driftwood River near Edinburgh, about forty-five miles away from the well as the crow flies.
I’m no hydrologist, so it’s crazy to think that water shooting down into a metal pipe inside a plastic drainage tile in rural Hancock County eventually winds its way to the Gulf of Mexico! That realization only occurred to me now, though; I wasn’t contemplating watersheds or river systems when I was at the well. Instead, I was struck by how cool and clear the water was, along with how fast it gushed out. My sixteen-ounce Monster can overflowed after a second and a half! I drank from it greedily and filled up again and again.
Unfortunately, I didn’t know much about the Village Brook well when I visited it either time, figuring it was a remnant of the gas boom that gripped East Central Indiana during the 1890s. After the gas was exhausted, some well casings subject to specific topographical requirements cracked and began to flow with water. Fortunately, recent research confirms my assumption: back around the turn of the twentieth century, the Village Brook well was a gas well leased from Asa Vandyne1. In 1906, he owned about ninety acres straddling the brook in northern Brown Township2.
I’ve since been referring to the Village Brook well in honor of Asa Vandyne. It feels right to put a name to something that could so easily be overlooked! Every time I return, I’m reminded how even the most unassuming places can carry history, mystery, and meaning. Sometimes, all you have to do is stop, listen, and drink it in.
Sources Cited
1 Well Events For IGWS ID: 139944 (2025). Well Record tables. The Indiana Geological & Water Survey. Indiana University. Web. Retrieved July 29, 2025
2 Monger, O.H. (1906). Atlas of Hancock County, Indiana, U.S.A. William Mitchell Printing Company [Greenfield]. Map.
On a hot day like today, that cold, fresh water is tantalizing!
It was on the way to hot when I stopped by. It was very welcome!