High Rock in the 1800’s

High Rock in the 1800’s. . In the 1800's thousands of people visited Saratoga Springs to drink the healing waters. In 1848 The Clarke and White Spring Water Company was the first to commercially bottle High Rock water. They purchased the spring and erected a circular brick structure to protect the cone and to bottle the water. In order to dispense water to visitors, dipper boys served customers with a drink of the water directly from the cone. , In 1865 William McCaffery and Seymour Ainsworth purchased High Rock and constructed an ornate gothic pavilion crested with a golden eagle. In 1866 the structure was completed at a final cost of $6,000. The cost put them in debt forcing them to declare bankruptcy., The spring and pavilion sold at auction for $16,000 in 1872 to a new company: The Saratoga High Rock Spring Company, owned by William Fargo. Fargo operated the spring and bottling plant until 1904 when he sold to the final private owners, Barnes and Henry. By 1911, High Rock Spring ceased to flow and remained dry until the re-drilling in May of 2015.