Mardela Springs in Wicomico County, Maryland — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Barren Creek Spring House
Barren Creek Springs Village
Photographed By Devry Becker Jones (CC0), January 14, 2022
1. Barren Creek Spring House Marker
Inscription.
Barren Creek Spring House. Barren Creek Springs Village. Mineral water springs feeding into Barren Creek here were known by the native Americans before settlers came in the 1600's. After the Revolutionary War a veteran built a small tavern beside the largest spring, a site that was one of the main stage stops on the main road from the points north to the County seat, Princess Anne. By the mid-1800's the tavern had become a large hotel that attracted travelers and vacationers that came to "take the waters" , the village had become a mineral water spa town! So it was fitting that an attractive, inviting structure be built directly over the spring. Benches around the inside of the Victorian "summer house" could seat 25 persons as they drank the water, soaked their feet, and generally enjoyed themselves. In the latter 1800's enterprising villagers began bottling and shipping the water to cities all through the mid-Atlantic! The business boom collapsed in the Depression and the Spring House was just a curiosity. In the mid-1900's the owner put a brick veneer on the building. But the spring still trickles!
Mineral water springs feeding into Barren Creek here were known by the native Americans before settlers came in the 1600's. After the Revolutionary War a veteran built a small tavern beside the largest spring, a site that was one of the main stage stops on the main road from the points north to the County seat, Princess Anne. By the mid-1800's the tavern had become a large hotel that attracted travelers and vacationers that came to "take the waters" — the village had become a mineral water spa town! So it was fitting that an attractive, inviting structure be built directly over the spring. Benches around the inside of the Victorian "summer house" could seat 25 persons as they drank the water, soaked their feet, and generally enjoyed themselves. In the latter 1800's enterprising villagers began bottling and shipping the water to cities all through the mid-Atlantic! The business boom collapsed in the Depression and the Spring House was just a curiosity. In the mid-1900's the owner put a brick veneer on the building. But the spring still trickles!
Erected by Westside Historical Society. (Marker Number 13.)
Location. 38° 27.673′ N, 75° 45.139′ W. Marker is in Mardela Springs, Maryland, in Wicomico County. Marker is on Main Street, 0.1 miles east of Branch Street, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 105 Main St, Mardela Springs MD 21837, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Photographed By Devry Becker Jones (CC0), January 14, 2022
2. Barren Creek Spring House Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on January 15, 2022. It was originally submitted on January 15, 2022, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 252 times since then and 46 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on January 15, 2022, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
