Read time: 4 min.

I found flowing wells through sheer exploration until I used tips on social media to to expand my search. Eventually, I stumbled across Indiana University’s Interactive Petroleum Data Management System Map, an online tool that gave me the sites of old gas wells across the state! Some had since become flowing water wells, like the one I found near Anderson a few years ago. Unfortunately, I won’t get to see it in person for a couple more months. 

I spent a ton of time parsing that IPDMS map for flowing wells when I uncovered it a few years ago. Set it to the “Gas Wells” filter, configure your basemap to “Imagery with Labels,” and start clicking red dots close to rivers and streams. Once you make it to the full well record, a note at the bottom will tell you if it’s a flowing water well or not. It’s RONCO easy! I learned of one, the McClead Well southwest of Summitville, right next to Lilly Creek¹ that way. I couldn’t find it in person, but I’m waiting until winter to check it out. The flowing water should melt the nearby snow. 

Madison County is full of flowing wells, as it turns out- all old gas wells that cracked and let water seep up and out. I employed the same method to find another west of the White River, just off of what was Tenth Street at the far-east reaches of Anderson. I named it the Larimore Well after the family that leased it to Citizens Gas Company in 1891². I tried to investigate on Google Street View, but the most recent image, from 2013, showed a janky metal gate impeding progress. I thought about trying to contact the landowner, but was quickly on to other obsessions. 

A few years ago, I read that Red-Tail Land Conservancy had established Hidden Canal Nature Preserve, a fifty-acre forest on the west bank of the White River near Anderson³. I didn’t put two and two together until I remembered the Larimore Well and found that it sat squarely on the conservancy’s property! I’ve had bad luck cold-calling people by email lately, but I decided to let ‘er rip and shot the group a message. I explained what I’d found, sent a screenshot of the map, and explained the well’s important history. I said I knew that Hidden Canal was closed to the public because of Red-Tail’s extensive restoration project, but wondered if I could come see it sometime. 

To my surprise, Red-Tail’s Operations and Membership Coordinator got back to me lickety-split. The conservancy had worked with Steve Jackson -the Madison County Historian- to learn about the property’s history, and knew of an old homesite near the pin on the map. Accessing the site would be tricky, she said, thanks to a thicket of nettles and invasives, but mentioned a tour that might occur after the first freeze. 

Not long after, Red-Tail Conservancy’s Stewardship Coordinator replied. She’d seen the well before, always wondered what it was, and even sent a photo of iron-rich water bubbling from a pipe into a permanent, rust-colored pool. Bingo! Later this year, or early next, I hope to tour the property as a hanger-on to the Madison County Invasive Species Team to see it for myself. I can’t wait! Red-Tail has been wonderful to work with, and I admire its mission to protect East Central Indiana’s natural habitats as it connects people with their mission of conservation.

Sources Cited
1 Well Events For IGWS ID: 143575 (2026). Well Record tables. The Indiana Geological & Water Survey. Indiana University. Web. Retrieved August 5, 2026.
2 Well Events For IGWS ID: 142761 (2026). Well Record tables. The Indiana Geological & Water Survey. Indiana University. Web. Retrieved August 5, 2026.
3 Current Restoration Projects (n.d.). Red-Tail Land Conservancy [Muncie]. Web. Retrieved August 5, 2026. 
4 About Red-tail Land Conservancy (n.d.). Red-Tail Land Conservancy [Muncie]. Web. Retrieved August 5, 2026.