The Big Spring
Holden Brolliar, Fall 2024
Big Spring park is one of the main attractions Huntsville has to offer. Located within downtown huntsville Big Spring Park hosts fields of grass and trees, a wide pond of water, and numerous animals like the koi, goldfish, and striped shiner that swim below the surface of the water, the ducks and geese that swim on the water, the pigeons that fly about the park, and the squirrels and chipmunks who run along the fields and in the trees. The park adds a refreshing view from the tall buildings that litter the surroundings.
The Spring located within Big spring park is a massive karst Spring, This source of pure water was a blessing to the native americans and then to the frontiersmen. The spring got its name from what the Cherokee and Chickasaw Indian tribes called it. Karst springs result from cave rives draining their water and it eventually reaches the surface, the spring then being a result of the Big Spring Cave. The spring which the park is now built around, was the main water source of the early city. A water mill was later upgraded to a steam pump and pump house, for the purpose of pumping water into the reservoir on the Madison city courthouse square. (Varnedoe 13).
John Hunt, the man who Huntsville is named after, He was the first white man to settle and build his hut on the banks of the big spring. Hunt's cabin was built on a bluff overlooking the spring (Betts 6). Early settlers got the word out about this land, its fertility, beauty and the wonderful “Big Spring” and in 1806 many home seekers began to come to the country and settle in these parts (Betts 7). The spring was a wonderful place to be and see it drew people to settle in the area and is a core reason huntsville began to grow. “Truly, this new Eden must have offered many and unprecedented inducements. [...] The climate was healthful and mild ; the surrounding country was well supplied with waterways” (Bretts 10). The land that Hunt had settled was rich and wonderful, the land was prosperous which only drove more people to the land. Among the settlers the spring was referred to as Hunt’s spring until Twickenham itself was renamed to Huntsville after anti-english sentiment.
The water provided by the spring also helped out settlers by providing easier access to travel and trade. The Indian Creek Canal runs through the spring and was the first canal in the state of Alabama; it connects the spring with the Tennessee river ten miles away, and was instrumental in the shipping of cotton (Hitt).
The park itself was founded later in the late 1800’s nearing the start of the 1900’s. The construction of the park began in September under the direction of Chitten. It later expanded across church street and kept on expanding, updating and growing into what it is today. It’s an attraction that has brought people to huntsville throughout time and it remains a scenic place for people to enjoy.
Biblography
Lamoreaux and Powell, Stereographic and Structural Guides to the Development of Water Wells and Well Fields in a Limestone Terrain. 1963
Varnedoe, W. W. (William Whitfield), and Charles A. Lundquist. Tales of Huntsville Caves. Huntsville, AL: Huntsville Grotto of the National Speleological Society, 2005. Print
Acknowledgements
UAH Honors Honors College, Thomas Ehemann
