Big Spring Park, Church Street

Alyssa Walldorf, HON 101: Then and Now Fall 2024

Located at the heart of Huntsville Alabama is the easily recognizable Big Spring park. This lovely park covers nearly 18 acres of land and is the perfect place for people of all ages to spend their time. Whether it is the landscape or the fact that the park is packed with ducks there are many reasons why Big Spring Park is a place to behold. But, while the huge body of water at the center of the park catches most people's attention, the real beauty of the park is hidden in the corner of the park just across the street.

In 1805, John Hunt, a Revolutionary War Veteran, was exploring the area looking for a place to build a community. Then he found it, a small spring resting under a small cliff. After coming across this area John decided this would be the perfect place. Since Hunt was the one who founded this community the spring was dubbed Hunt’s Spring. Many years after the beginning of this community, the Indian Creek Navigation company had the idea to construct a canal connecting this small spring with the Tennessee River. The purpose of this canal was to make the transportation of cotton easier. Construction of this canal began in 1820, just one year after Alabama became a state. The construction took two decades to complete but once it was it became a staple in Huntsville history. The canal was not the only thing that happened with the park.

“ In 1823, Huntsville developed the nation’s first public water system west of the Appalachian mountains, with Big Spring as its water source. Community baptisms were held at Big Spring Park, dating back to at least the late 1800s. In the mid-1960s, amusement park rides were set up in Big Spring Park. Big Spring was also a filming location for the movie Constellation, which starred Billy Dee Williams and Zoe Saldana.”(Huntsville.org)

Who knew that so much history happened in this little spring tucked into the corner of the park.

Almost a century later in the late 1900s the decision was made to make this amazing spring into a park. Starting in 1990 some plans were drawn up for the park. A couple of concepts were proposed for the park but in the end the decision was made that the park would favor the arts. You can see this today when you look to one side of the park and see the Huntsville Museum of art in all its glory. Other decisions were made relating to the lagoon. “LDR recommended some minor changes to the lagoon. The creation of an island can provide a greater impact by opening the view beyond the current "peninsula", which splits the lagoon into two smaller ponds.”(LDR, Page 6). While they didn’t end up creating an island and kept the peninsula, the bridge running in the middle of the lagoon creates the effect of two separate bodies of water. Not much has changed with this small Spring other than the construction of a bridge and the water fountain in the rock that was found with the spring. 

One of the more fascinating things found about the park are the little details sprinkled throughout. While the park is called Big Spring Park its official name is actually Big Spring International Park. But, where does the international part of the park’s name come from? Located in the center of the park is the iconic bridge. From common knowledge most people will see that the design is inspired from bridges in Japan. The Japanese influence also comes in with the cherry blossom trees sprinkled throughout the park. Wander around the park and you will come across a sundial and park bench. The sundial came from Germany and the seemingly ordinary park bench came from England. The  history and the details of this location are quite fascinating and it offers much more than just a picnic location and place to feed the ducks. 

Bibliography

Acknowledgments 

Thanks to the UAH Honors College and the UAH Archives, Special Collections, and Digital Initiatives. Also thanks to Mr. Grimsley for the opportunity to do this research project.