SpringHouse Ideas?

Philosofarmer

Philosofarmer

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Here on the "philosofarm" we have been struggling with a low yield well. With a big family its just not been cutting it. So, we got a trackhoe in to head up a historically good spring which was the source of water here for an old cabin (long ago taken apart and removed) and used later to water cattle. The fella that sold us the land told us our spring has always produced abundantly and that the water was "so cold it would bust your teeth!!!" From what I can tell, even in the record droughts we had a few years ago, he is right! We have always observed a steady supply of water coming from the spring. With a trackhoe we were able to get even farther into the head and have really cleaned it up and consolidated even more water by chasing the source deep down and into solid bedrock. Heavy machinery produced results that they could have only hoped for years ago with only shovels (they got most of it way back when, but it was still weeping all around the head). Now we have exceptional flow (enough to fill a 1 1/2" pipe or so, but we went ahead and did a 2" pipe). We chased it into solid rock, bricked it up into a box, graveled inside and packed it all around with red clay dirt. We are going to be burying a 1000 gal tank to draw from when the well gets low, maybe even using it as a primary source. Water problem solved......but

I got to thinking that down hill from that tank I could build an old fashioned spring house. I have been looking at some of the spring houses in my area that are still around just to get some ideas. I was wondering if anyone out there on the forum had stories, mountain lore, pictures of or insight into springhouses? It will be a backup for all the good things that they use to be used for before electricity and modern refrigeration: drinking water, cooling our goat's milk in 1/2 gal jars, aging cheese, and whatnot.

From what I can gather most springhouses were fairly small (about 10' x 12' ish) made of rock (later, brick or cinder block which is what I will use) and had a big trough going longwise along the wall. The ones I have seen sometimes have shelves all around overhead for storage and maybe even a bench opposite the trough ( I assume for just sitting in the cool on a hot day and maybe wash clothes???). The cooling troughs I have seen all have stepped shelves that go deeper and deeper to accommodate jars or crocks of different heights. Most of the old timers willing to "show and tell" would talk about how they use to keep a brook trout or a "spring lizard" (a.k.a. salamander) in the trough to "keep impurities out" but also to let them know if the water went bad (kinda like a canary in the coal mine). Anyway, I thought maybe some folks could chime in and share what they know while I am still in the planning phase. Don't be bashful, get in here and chime in,,,I know some of ya'll have some stories to tell and fond memories to share!!!
 
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Interesting that you associated spring house with a water spring. I’ve never made thst connection, but yput May be 100% correct. I always thought the trough was to let ice melted water out and the spring house was downstream of the icehouse. It’s really an interesting concept, and I applaud you for trying It.
 
noway2 said:
Interesting that you associated spring house with a water spring. I’ve never made thst connection, but yput May be 100% correct. I always thought the trough was to let ice melted water out and the spring house was downstream of the icehouse. It’s really an interesting concept, and I applaud you for trying It.
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Thanks for responding. Yeah, all the spring houses around here where I have lived (Alleghany and Watauga Counties) were spring supplied. Folks may have had an ice box in addition, but rarely an ice house. Spring water comes out of the ground where I am at around 52 degrees all year round. Thats 12 deg warmer than you would want a modern refrigerator to run but enough to keep food a little longer than just leaving it out at room temp. What it's really ideal for is dairy, 52-55 (and good humidity) makes a darn near perfect environment for aging cheese. Moreover, springhouses with a good gpm exchange are ideal for cooling milk because of the constant flow and thermal mass/inertia of a big trough. In fact some people called springhouses milk houses. After milking you would strain milk into a big metal milk jug (which had thin metal walls to exchange heat) which would set right down into the water. I did a deep dive into milk handling practices when we got goats and the faster it cools the better. We have never had the goaty flavor experienced by those who just strain it into a jug and stick it in the fridge. It won't hit the recommended temp of 40 in a spring house but it will cool things to 52 very fast, which if consumed fresh is cool enough for me. The custom here in the Appalachian mountain range was that you would head up a spring and either build the spring house directly over the spring head or pipe it to a more convenient location if the spring was a long way from the house or to steep etc. As you point out, there may be examples of springhouses being downstream of iceboxes, but I wouldn't think a properly build ice house would produce enough water from meltage alone. If it did, it would be a very poor icehouse. We haven't even brought up the spring house's little brother, a.k.a. a spring box. This was literally just a small box with spring fed water running through it to cool things in, like the trough part of a springhouse.
 
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I grew up in the midwest. The 3 spring houses on our property were built over the spring head.
 
Philosofarmer said:
3 springs!!! Wow, I'm thankful just to have one. How many acres?
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Total rented and owned. Almost 11k

Originally it was 3 separate farms.

Grand dad started with 20 acres and when he died. He owned right at 2600 and leased the rest.
 
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We had springs on the farm that I grew up on that were nice and clear, with the "scooper" hanging over them on a tree limb that we would drink out of. But no springhouses.

I'm sure you've probably read them already, but everything I know about them was from reading the Foxfire series of books when we were setting our place up. Informative, but kind of short on some details.

I think maybe, in NC, they were more prevalent in the hills and mountains than in the flatlands of Chatham County. Or, they were gone before I came along. But I kinda doubt that, because the structures that were no longer used from previous generations of families in my neighborhood, were usually still there but repurposed. Smoke houses became tools sheds or chicken coops etc.
 
At our places in West Jefferson we have/had 2 springs. They appear to have suddenly gone dry after being active for as long as anyone involved with the property can remember. I never considered that a possibility. They were my back up water supply. Now I need to work on another plan. 😏
 
thrillhill said:
We had springs on the farm that I grew up on that were nice and clear, with the "scooper" hanging over them on a tree limb that we would drink out of. But no springhouses.

I'm sure you've probably read them already, but everything I know about them was from reading the Foxfire series of books when we were setting our place up. Informative, but kind of short on some details.

I think maybe, in NC, they were more prevalent in the hills and mountains than in the flatlands of Chatham County. Or, they were gone before I came along. But I kinda doubt that, because the structures that were no longer used from previous generations of families in my neighborhood, were usually still there but repurposed. Smoke houses became tools sheds or chicken coops etc.
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I lived outside of Raleigh for 3 years and while I was going to seminary. Hunted a lot down there and hardly ever came across one. Now baccy barns, different story!!! And yes, I agree that there are a lot of them here but few still functional and none still in current use.
 
The spring box on my wife’s family property was about 75 feet above the house. The water was ice cold year round and had enough pressure to enlarge your eye sockets in the shower. No pump was necessary.
It was crystal clear unless there was a large extended downpour. It would take a few hours to clear up.
I was visiting once and washing my hands in the kitchen. A salamander ended up in the sink. That’s when I learned about their water source.
That spring dried up so they drilled a well.
 
Did a quick search on YouTube and found a few videos on spring houses/boxes. You should be able to get some ideas there.

Here is one I found

 
I’ve got a couple springs on my property in East Tennessee. None of them are in a good place for a spring house.
 
Hammer12b said:
I’ve got a couple springs on my property in East Tennessee. None of them are in a good place for a spring house.
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What about a still?


Seriously, could you dam up one and run piping to an area to use?
 
Both of my grandparents had spring water as an only water source.
One was gravity fed, one was pumped.
The pumped one had what we called "the spring house" but it was basically just a block tank with a roof over it.
Probably 5' x 5' and only about 3' tall above grade. Had a side door and they used to keep watermelons floating in there
in the summer time.
 
ronn47 said:
What about a still?


Seriously, could you dam up one and run piping to an area to use?
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There’s been plenty of stills on the property! There are remains of a couple still there. The springs are too far below from the cabin to be of use for a water source or a spring house.
 
Snal~ said:
Both of my grandparents had spring water as an only water source.
One was gravity fed, one was pumped.
The pumped one had what we called "the spring house" but it was basically just a block tank with a roof over it.
Probably 5' x 5' and only about 3' tall above grade. Had a side door and they used to keep watermelons floating in there
in the summer time.
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Floating watermelons!!!! I love it, I'll have to remember that one. We pulled out a tank from this spring here that was similar to the one you described but had crumbled. It was a concrete tank that looked like it was designed to be used for septic that they dropped in the ground 15 ft or so from the head to give them a big reservoir to pull the water from.
 
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