A Spring House in North Georgia

The ruins of a spring house remain down a hill behind Stamp Creek Baptist Church near the village of White in Bartow County, Georgia.

One day while exploring old iron foundries and lime kilns, I stopped for a break in an old baptist church parking lot. Stamp Creek Baptist Church was founded in 1853 in White Georgia. The graveyard across the road has its earliest burial just one year after the church was founded. While sitting near the back of the parking lot, I noticed a break in the trees. From the car there appeared to be a possible trail. I got out and walked down a hill until I found a mixture of stone, cement, and natural ruins.

At first, I thought I had found a cistern or a place for baptisms. But the rectangular shape of the ruins, along with the sequestered clear, but shallow water suggested otherwise. I called a friend who had a background in construction, history, and exploration and sent him a photo.

"You've found the ruins of a spring house.", he exclaimed.

Of course, my curiosity piqued, I began researching. As it turns out, spring houses were quite popular from Colonial times in the 1700's until around 1940. In the colonies as well as Appalachia, farmers and homesteaders would try to make their homes around springs. A spring is a natural source of water that "springs" up from under the earth.

In order to keep perishable items cool, especially in the days before refrigerators were invented, people would construct small one or two room structures around a spring. One room would house the spring and another may be used for butter churning. Not all food stuffs react well to dampness, while others like milk, prefer the cold and damp.

Sometimes shelves would be built slightly under the water to hold items, in other instances people would place liquid items in clay jugs and place submerge them. On a hot day, a spring house made of stone would never rise above 50 degrees fahrenheit. On colder days, depending on the region, temps could drop as low as 20 degrees or less.