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Near Richmond in Henrico County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
 

Spring Park

Healing Waters

 
 
Spring Park Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bernard Fisher, November 21, 2009
1. Spring Park Marker
Inscription. The earliest record of the property shows that Samuel Williamson owned the 400 acre tract in 1796. His son, Dabney, who inherited the property, owned a slave by the name Lewis who participated in Gabriel’s Rebellion in 1800. Lewis attempted to persuade comrades to free those arrested shortly after the rebellion unraveled. He was tried and deported.

The first notation of the site being a mineral spring appears on a map in 1810. Later it is referred to as a sulphur spring. The Bloomingdale Land Company most likely had the granite spring house constructed sometime in the 1890s when they had many land improvements made. In 1907, a real estate advertisement appeared in the Richmond Times-Dispatch showing the park and spring referred to as Spring Park adjacent to a proposed subdivision.

By 1933, it appears that the spring was no longer in use. An affidavit presented to the Henrico County Board of Supervisors showed “that neither the county nor the public has used the spring or park for many years, or at least twenty years, and the spring no longer exists.”

(sidebar)
Springs in Virginia were developed and used for health and entertainment purposes as early as the 1700s. Their heyday was before the Civil War and during the late nineteenth century. People would drink the healing water,
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rub it on themselves or bathe in it hoping to benefit from its medicinal characteristics. Others just enjoyed the relaxation and company they found down by the spring. Better medical treatments, changing social customs and mobility from the automobile ended the popularity of springs throughout the state in the early twentieth century.

Map: Virginia Historical Society
Advertisement (inset): Library of Virginia

 
Erected by County of Henrico.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African AmericansParks & Recreational AreasScience & MedicineSettlements & SettlersWaterways & Vessels. A significant historical year for this entry is 1796.
 
Location. 37° 35.952′ N, 77° 27.905′ W. Marker is near Richmond, Virginia, in Henrico County. Marker can be reached from Park Street near Bloomingdale Avenue. This marker is located at the Spring Park Historic Site. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2000 Park Street, Henrico VA 23228, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Gabriel’s Rebellion (a few steps from this marker); Young's Spring (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); Joseph Bryan Park (about 700 feet away); Richmond Defences (approx. ¼ mile away); Sheridan Maneuvers East
Granite springhouse constructed in the 1890s. image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bernard Fisher, November 21, 2009
2. Granite springhouse constructed in the 1890s.
(approx. 0.6 miles away); Adèle Goodman Clark (approx. 0.7 miles away); Emmanuel Church at Brook Hill Episcopal (approx. 0.7 miles away); Gabriel’s Insurrection (approx. 0.9 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Richmond.
 
More about this marker. On the upper left is a drawing of "One of Virginia's Mineral Springs."
 
Also see . . .
1. Gabriel’s Rebellion. Henrico County (Submitted on November 22, 2009.) 

2. Spring Park. Henrico County (Submitted on November 22, 2009.) 
 
Spring Park Historic Site on Park Street image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bernard Fisher, November 21, 2009
3. Spring Park Historic Site on Park Street
Spring Park Preservation Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bernard Fisher, November 21, 2009
4. Spring Park Preservation Marker
This site donated for historic preservation in memory of William Thomas Allman, Sr.
Adopt a Stream image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bernard Fisher, November 21, 2009
5. Adopt a Stream
Upham Brook (Young's Spring) image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bernard Fisher, November 21, 2009
6. Upham Brook (Young's Spring)
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on July 14, 2022. It was originally submitted on November 22, 2009, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. This page has been viewed 1,449 times since then and 28 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on November 22, 2009, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia.

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Mar. 28, 2024