Peoria Mineral Springs

Peoria Mineral Springs is 14,500-year-old natural spring in the city of Peoria, Illinois, United States. The site, also known as Spring Hill, is located on a hillside on the historic West Bluff between Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Moss Avenue.[2][3]

Peoria Mineral Springs
The house on the property where the springs are located. They are not open to the public.
Peoria Mineral Springs is located in Peoria County, Illinois
Peoria Mineral Springs
Location701 W. 7th Ave., Peoria, Illinois
Coordinates40°41′45″N 89°36′15″W
Arealess than one acre
Built1843, c. 11,500 B.C.E.
ArchitectMoss, Zealy
Architectural styleFederal
NRHP reference No.82002593[1]
Added to NRHPMarch 5, 1982

History

Peoria Mineral Springs are a remnant of the glacial retreat of the Ice Age.[3] The quality of the water has a pH of 7.11 and a mineral breakdown between 500 and 700 parts per million.[3] The springs produce over 30,000 gallons every day.[4] It originally fed a former Peoria lake called Goose Lake, which was drained in the 1800s.[4]

The site was a Native American campground. Artifacts can still be found around the site.[2]

In 1843, a "cave-like barrel-vaulted brick reservoir" was constructed; the structure is concealed within the hillside and captures the flow of three separate springs.[2] The brick reservoir was built for Peoria's first water company, Peoria Water Works.[3] The springs supplied water to residents up to two miles away through hand-bored wooden pipes.[3][4][5] Lydia Moss Bradley had spring water supplied to her residence until her 1908 death.[3][6] The springs were Peoria's primary water source for about 15 years, until the population grew and a new water source close to the Illinois River was established.[3]

The water was bottled and sold in the 19th century. Ransom Hickey of Hickey Bottling Works sold beverages such as Peach Cider, Lithia Seltzer and Rose Malt.[3][4] Preston Clark patented the name Peoria Mineral Springs in 1892 and sold beverages as “Peoria Mineral Spring Soda.”[3] Get Rosy Malt was touted as a "temperance food drink for discriminating people."[4]

Later, the springs were deemed a safety hazard and filled with gravel.[3]

Renovation

The Traynor family purchased the property in 1969 with the intention of restoring the Federal style, post-colonial house on the site.[3][6] The property had belonged to Revolutionary War hero Captain Zeally Moss in the early 1830s, then to his son, William S. Moss, a businessman and riverboat captain. It took over two years to remove the gravel from the spring.[3]

The site was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on March 5, 1982.[2] The springs and the residence were added to the City of Peoria list of Historic Local Landmarks in June 1994.[7]

Notes
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. "Peoria Mineral Springs," (PDF), National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, HAARGIS Database. Retrieved 15 April 2007.
  3. Lynn, Greg (March 25, 2016). "Reviving the Springs". Peoria Magazine. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
  4. Muellerleile, Dean (March 9, 2023). "30,000 gallons of water per day? The deep, intricate history of Peoria Mineral Springs". Peoria Journal Star. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
  5. Ballance, Charles (1870). The History of Peoria, Illinois. N.C. Nason.
  6. Bishop, Molly Crusen. "Molly Crusen Bishop: From where her hopes spring eternal". The Peorian. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
  7. "Local Landmarks - Historic Residences | Peoria, IL". www.peoriagov.org. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
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