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. 

East-Central Indiana is full of old gas wells. Over time, a few of them turned into artesian wells that flow with water. I’ve been to forty-seven of them, and know of even more in the Yorktown area! Unfortunately, one I’ve never seen might be in trouble: an enormous new apartment complex may threaten its existence. 

The very same day I got skunked at the pump south of Sulphur Springs, I offered to ride to Columbia City with my mom to buy a picnic basket. On the way back, construction forced us onto a detour that wound through Warren- a town that, fittingly enough for my purposes, boasts a Flowing Well Road. Unlike my last visit, this time we veered right off State Road 5. A few minutes later, there it was: artesian well number forty-seven burbling away.

Not long ago, a reader asked if I’d ever been out to see the flowing well near Sulphur Springs in rural Henry County. To my surprise, not only had I never been- I’d never even heard of it! The message was all the excuse I needed for a quick trip down south. Wondering if I’d see the sulphur spring of Sulphur Springs, I set out to find it for myself the very next weekend. Unfortunately, I stumbled onto something I hadn’t expected.

The flowing well at Harlan Cemetery is a relatively new discovery for me. I didn’t stumble across it until 2023! I was passing through Charlottesville late last month when I suddenly remembered it and couldn’t resist making a quick detour. Unlike some wells that sputter or slow with time, this one still gushes steadily from its sharp-angled pipe. As much as I love the well itself, I was just as eager to wander the quiet graveyard it’s named for. 

My mom and I were zipping through southern Wayne County when a sign caught our eye for Potter Shop Road. The name was too good to pass up, so we followed it straight into the tiny community of Abington, a place neither of us had ever explored. Just as Mom was about to veer toward Centerville Road, something odd came into view: a weathered stone trough with a sign that read “Non Portable Water.” It looked like an artesian well to me! Mom cranked the wheel into a nearby parking spot without hesitation. 

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.