A recent drive through the frozen backroads of Delaware County sent me chasing a winter mystery: how were the old artesian wells holding up in the cold? There, near one of three “high banks” in the area, the Lennington well was still doing what it’s always done! Over at Mt. Pleasant Church Cemetery, though, the story was different. Just a third of a mile south, it was dry. 

Some places in the countryside don’t look like much at first glance. There’s no historic marker, no crumbling brick, and no story spelled out in bronze. Sometimes, just a patch of grass along a rural road and the faint suggestion that something unusual is happening underground is enough for me to stop! Most often, those are flowing wells. Unfortunately, the one I most recently passed isn’t flowing. 

Back in October, I swore to you that there was a flowing well hiding in the tall grass of a Grant County pasture. I’d visited the old Kirkwood well before, but this time something felt different: beneath the weeds, I could hear water gurgling at the base of the casing instead of trickling down its trough. Something had changed! I left that day with a promise to return and figure out what was really going on. In December, I finally did.

Flowing wells feel almost supernatural in winter as pockets of motion when everything else has gone still. That said, there’s nothing mystical about why they keep running when the thermometer dips: deep groundwater maintains a remarkably stable temperature year-round. Even on days when standing water turns solid, the water emerging from a flowing well like Granville’s begins its journey already above freezing. It just keeps moving.

Sevier County, Tennessee, has no shortage of attractions. There’s Dollywood, the Titanic Museum, the Island in Pigeon Forge, and more pancake houses than you can count. It’s the kind of place that hums with excitement! On my last visit, though, I steered clear of the crowds and the $9.99 souvenir shops. Instead of chasing thrills, I went looking for something more my speed: flowing wells. I think I found another one! Or maybe, again, it was a spring.

Sevier County, Tennessee, is packed with things to do. Between Dollywood, the Titanic Museum, the Island in Pigeon Forge, and all those alpine coasters, it’s easy to get swept up in the tourist whirlwind. Still, I decided to take a different path on a recent trip. Instead of chasing thrill rides, I went hunting for flowing wells. I think I found one! Or maybe it was a spring. 

Hereabouts, County Road 1300-North is also County Road 1200-South. The arrangement doesn’t make much sense until you learn that the rural thoroughfare straddles the line between Delaware and Grant Counties! The road doesn’t see much traffic since it ends unceremoniously at I-69, but I’ve traveled it more than most because there’s an old flowing well there. For much of the year, it’s nearly impossible to see.

Flowing wells -springs, as they’re known in Richmond- play an integral role in the story of the city’s Glen Miller Park. Early on, Cook’s Spring was one of the area’s main attractions! Thirsty patrons like me still come from miles away to visit another, the scenic Spring Water Spring, which sits just within the park’s entrance off the National Road. Unfortunately, the Iron Water Spring is not nearly as prominent as it sits far away from its peers on Lakeshore Drive. At least it used to: the entire setup had collapsed before the last time I visited.