Iron Spring & Wedding Grotto

Iron Spring and Wedding Grotto. , The Iron Spring, which also has been called Fletcher's Spring or the Upper Spring issues forth copiously from a fissure in limestone outcroppings on the upper part of Shober's Run. This highly mineralized water is similar to the nearby Mineral Spring, but has less magnesia content and a slightly higher amount of iron salts. The two mineral waters were so similar in composition that the Iron Spring water proved to be as popular as that of the Mineral Spring, and it flowed as abundantly. The Iron Spring water, once thought to have laxative and stimulant effects, was recommended for ailments associated with digestive tract, and for run-down conditions., A stone retaining wall has marked the Iron Spring clearing since the late nineteenth century, and the secluded bucolic location was a popular resting place along the trail. The clearing has evolved as a celebratory gathering place over the decades; in the twentieth century, because of its popularity for wedding ceremonies near the rustic stone wall, the clearing became known as the Wedding Grotto.