SPRINGS. "Yet often from the spring the draught is sought, MACKIN'S POEM-1729. PENN expressed his surprise, when here, at our numerous brooks, and added besides, "There are mineral waters, which operate like Barnet and North Hall, that are not two miles from Philadelphia." Gabriel Thomas too, in his description of 1698, speaks probably of the same springs, saying: "Not two miles from the metropolis are purging waters that pass by siege and urine, all out as good as Epsom." The idea of some good springs about the city was also expressed in the motto above, from Thomas Mackin's Latin poem, descriptive of Philadelphia in 1729. At this day none have any knowledge of any existing springs, and almost as little of any that are past. When Dr. Bond came to Philadelphia to settle as a physician in 1734, he found such fine chalybeates near the city as to attract his admiration; and it is known that he gave much encouragement to their free use by the sick and infirm. Having never been able to find one person who had any idea of the location of any of the springs so clearly referred to in the above citations, I have felt myself stimulated to find out, if possible, all and every case of springs, at any time formerly known to the ancients. I give the following facts, to wit: year "The Mineral Springs" I presume to have been the same found at "Bath town," in the Northern Liberties, and at a run a little this side of "Lemon Hill" seat, near the Schuylkill. The latter at present excites little or no attention; the former was brought into much celebrity by the influence of Dr. Kearsley. In the 1765, we see an advertisement of John White and wife, who advertise their bath at the town of Bath, saying they will provide refreshments for those who visit it; and they hope, from the virtues of the water, to answer the salutary purposes which the Founder [Dr. Kearsley,] originally intended. Their house at that day stood on a pleasant farm, called White's farm, having about the house a grove of grateful shade-itself on a green bank gently declining into the Cohocksinc creek. The house was sometimes called the "Rose of Bath," because of the sign of a rose attached to the house. The house is now standing, dismantled of all its former rural and attractive charms, a two story brick building, on the next lot north of the Methodist church in St. John street; and the spring, now obliterated, once flowed on the south side of that church, on ground now converted into a tanyard by Pritchet, nearly due east from the Third street stone bridge. The spring, over which Dr. Kearsley had erected a bath house, stood about twenty to twenty-five feet west from the line of St. John street, on the southern side of the tanyard, as I have been told. I mention the location with such particularity, that it may at some day cause a better speculation for some of our citizens, to revive it there by digging or boring, than that of "Jacob's Well" at New York. The town of Bath," so imposing in name, never existed but on charts. It was a speculation once to make a town there, but it did not take. Under the article "Pegg's Run" I have already spoken largely of an extraordinary spring there, the property of Prosper Martin, which is also of purging quality, though not a chalybeate, throwing out sixty thousand gallons of water a day! This also was near the line of St. John street. Bathsheba's "Spring and Bower," sometimes called “ Bath and Bower," near the junction of Little Dock and Second streets, has been described elsewhere under the article "Loxley's House." Dock creek in early days abounded with springs, and I have been able to trace as many as three of them on the western side, to wit: At Morris' brewery, now called Abbott's, at the junction of Pear street and Dock street, there is now a spring arched over, which has a vault from it into the great tunnel. The fact was told to me by Timothy Matlack, who had it so covered in his early days, when once concerned in that brewery. They once esteemed their beer as surpassing that of any in the city, from the use of that spring, which they then concealed and kept a secret. It stood twenty feet east from the east end of the brewhouse premises, and fifteen feet back from the street. With such a guide I was afterwards enabled to detect some issues from it in the cellar of the eating-house now on the place. The late aged Owen Jones, Esq. told me he remembered a spring in the cellar of a brewhouse on the western side of Dock street. nearly opposite the present Custom House. There was formerly an excellent and much used spring on the west side of Dock creek, nearly due west from the Drawbridge. It may now be found under a platform in the area of the cellar door appertaining to the stone house late of Levi Hollingsworth. John Townsend, an aged Friend, who died four or five years ago, told me, when in his 78th year, that he well remembered when the spring was open, and was much visited by boatmen, to take in their water for sea voyages. It had seats around it, and some shade trees about it. Thomas Brown, a Friend, afterwards built the stone house there, having previously built a frame house in front of it, which was pulled down, as lying beyond the proper line of the street. The present aged Colonel A. J. Morris, now ninety years of age, told me he well remembered the spring which he presumed gave name to "Spring Garden." He saw it in his youth when there was no village there, but so much in nature's wildness, that he hunted birdsnests, and got stung by some hornets, whose nests he was inspecting. At that time he knew an elderly lady who told him that when she was young she and other company used to go up Pegg's run, then beautifully rural, and lined with shrubbery,* going in a boat up to the spring at its source, and there drinking their tea and making their regale in a place of great rural attraction. As early as the year 1723, I observe the house and land called Spring Garden, well known to most people, is offered for sale by Dr. Francis Gandovet.” In the year 1773 the citizens were much excited to the admiration of a fine mineral spring accidentally discovered on the lot of ground at the north east corner of Chesnut and Sixth streets, now the premises of P. S. Duponceau, Esq. It was then pronounced, "from many accurate experiments then made, to exceed in strength any chalybeate in the country." While it enjoyed its fame many were supposed to have been benefited, but in a little while they dis covered it owed its character to the remains of a sunken pit. The present aged Joseph Crukshank told me he was shown by the aged Mr. Pearson, formerly City Surveyor, where a creek run into the Schuylkill, somewhere nigh or between Pine and South street. It was then dry and partially filled up. But, he believes, his kinsman, who now occupies a steam engine at the corner of Pine and Schuylkill Seventh street, derives his well-water from the hidden springs of that creek, as they have a surprising supply even when the wells around have generally failed. The house of Christopher Marshall, in Carter's alley, north side, has had a good spring in its cellar, even from its foundation. And his daughter, Mrs. Haines, told me that the well of the pump on Chesnut street, a little west of Second strect, had such a peculiar character many years ago, that Mr. West, at Vine street, who salted up provisions, used to send there for the water used in pickling his meat. There was a powerful spring, now covered with a pump, at the corner of Dock street and Go-forth alley, in the rear of the Bank of Pennsylvania. It was discovered about 35 years ago, in digging there a pump-well. All the ground was alluvial to the depth of 28 feet, and no appearance of water; but in striking in the spade below that depth, still it alluvial soil, the water spouted up powerfully, and rose so rapidly, to 15 feet, that they could never pump it dry enough to be able to build the well wall. The spring was excellent. Mr. Thomas Dixey, who told me these facts, then had a wooden curb sunk, and settled a brick wall in it. Some scrubby remains of these I can even remember in my time; and along the race of Craig's factory, and at his dam, the usual water bank shrubbery abounded, suck as alder and rose bushes. GARDENS. UNDER this head we shall present slight notices of places conspicuous in their day, as places of observation or resort. The garden belonging to Isaac Norris at Fairhill, was kept up in fine cultivation as early as the year 1718. F. D. Pastorius, who was himself distinguished at Germantown as a terri cultore, gives the praise of Fairhill garden to the wife,-saying to her and her sisters, as daughters of Governor Thomas Lloyd,-"I write an article respecting the treating of gardening, flowers and trees, knowing that you are lovers of gardens, the one keeping the finest (at Fairhill) I hitherto have seen in the whole country, filled with abundance of rarities, physical and metaphysical, the other a pretty little garden much like mine own, producing chiefly cordial, stomachic and culinary herbs." Of his own garden, Pastorius, who was a German, a scholar and a poet, thus speaks at Germantown -What wonder you then That F. D. P. likewise here many hours spends, To's garden and orchard and vineyard such times, His poetry having been written in different colours, he remarks, that of turmerick and elder leaves "He forms his red and green, as here is seen.” The taste which governed at the Fairhill place most probably inspired the fine arrangements of the garden grounds of "Norris' garden in the city, on the site of the present Bank of the United States, there occupying nearly half the square, and when still out of town, alluring strangers and people of taste to visit it. In the olden time, gardens, where they sold "balm-beer and cakes,” were common as places of resort. Such a one of peculiar celebrity, called the "Cheese-cake-house," once occupied the ground on the west side of Fourth street opposite to the Lutheran church-having there many apple and cherry trees, arbours and summer-houses, extending from Cherry street to Apple-tree alley -names probably derived from the place which they now serve to commemorate. The Cake-house was ancient. There was a small "Mead-house" long known up High street, vis a vis to Markoe's, above Ninth street. It was chiefly remarkable for its enormously large buttonwood trees. "Cherry Garden," down on Society Hill, in the parlance of its day, was a place of much fame as a place of recreation. It was a large garden fronting on Front street vis a vis to Shippen street, occupying half the square and extending down to the river. The small house of one story brick, in which the refreshments were sold, is now standing with its dead wall on the line of Front street. In 1756, it was advertised for sale as the property of Harrison, who advertised to sell off some of it in lots on Front and Water streets to the river in Cherry Garden." Colonel Morris spoke of it as he remembered it in the time of Clifton as its owner said it had abundance of every shrubbery and greenhouse plants. See a picture of the house in my MS. Annals in the City Library, p. 282. Clement Plumstead, Esq. Alderman, &c. had a finely cultivated garden, distinguished in its day, at the north west corner of Front and Union street. In January, 1729, it was thus noticed in the Gazette, viz. "Some vile miscreants one night this week got into the fine gardens of C. P. and cut down many of the fine trees there." The Spring Garden has been described under the article of its spring for which it was once famed. There were once a range of beautiful sloping gardens, declining from Front street houses into Dock creek, so as to be seen by passengers along the western side of Dock street. They belonged to Stedman, Cunningham, and others. They were seen by T. Matlack and such aged persons. At Turner's country-seat, called "Wilton," down in the Neck, was some remarkable garden cultivation, inviting the strangers visiting the city to inspect it, which has been noticed in connexion with the premises, under the article "Country Seats." Gray's garden, at Schuylkill ferry, about the time of the Revolution, then enjoyed the last and greatest fame. |