Amherst’s Old Spring Article – July 1953

Vintage postcard of the Old Spring

Back in May, I featured a full-page article with photos from the Lorain Journal from 1956 spotlighting Amherst. One of the photo subjects was the well-known, iconic Old Spring.

Well, here’s another article from the Journal from a few years earlier, with a historical look back at the Spring. It ran in the paper on July 4, 1953.

One of the interesting tidbits mentioned in the article is how the Works Projects Administration did some work around the Spring’s surroundings, adding a wall along Beaver Creek, safety fencing, stone tables and a fireplace.

The Ohio Guide (1940), compiled by workers of the Writers’ Program of the Works Projects Administration in the State of Ohio, mentions the Old Spring. It notes, “In a landscaped ravine on Milan Ave. back of the town hall is OLD SPRING PARK, with outdoor tables and benches made from large grindstones.”

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I hadn’t been down to see the Old Spring in probably decades – so in preparation for this post I headed over there on Sunday afternoon.

I remember my parents bringing my siblings and me to see the Spring back in the 1960s. I’m pretty sure that you could still drink the water then, although I don’t remember it tasting particularly good.

The entrance arch seems to be crumbling a bit. Surprisingly, there's no sign making tourists aware of what it is.

Anyway, it was time to go down the stairs to see what the Old Spring looked like in 2019.

And there it was. I understand that there is a plan to rebuild the stone arch seen in the vintage postcard at the top of this post.

Can you still drink the water? Maybe these signs have the answer.

I’m not sure but I think this is the fireplace mentioned in the article. (Blogger's note: I know now that isn't the case.) It did have charcoal briquets in it. And it’s rain-proof.

The rest of the park was pretty mushy from all the rain and very overgrown. In the interest of avoiding poison ivy (I break out when I get within five feet of it), I made the rash decision to pack it in. So for me it was back up the stairs, and on my way.

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UPDATE

Here are a few photos of the Old Spring, courtesy of the 125th Anniversary Edition of the Amherst News-Times, Sept. 22, 1939. It's pretty interesting how much the Spring has changed over the years.

One of the photos includes the fireplace mentioned in the 1953 article. By George, it's a real fireplace, not a tiny thing like I thought.

This link will take you to the Ohio Memory.org page with the whole edition of the newspaper, which includes several articles about the Old Spring.

Here's one of the 1939 articles. It mentions the work that the Federal government did to beautify the park surrounding the Spring.