There are wells and then there are wells!
In the United States, until some years after the Civil War, the
majority of wells were “open,” i.e., holes dug in the
ground and lined, or cased, with brick, stone, or wood. Although
they are sometimes dug with picks and shovels, most wells today are
made by rotary or percussion drills. A drilling bit set in the
bottom of a drilling pipe is rotated by machinery on the ground
level and as the cut deepens, more sections of pipe are fastened to
the sections already in use. Regardless of the drilling method,
well walls are usually cased with iron or steel to prevent
cave-ins. Casing is inserted when the desired depth has been
reached or, in some instances, as the well is being drilled.
Plans and dreams that went awry
This well was drilled late in the 1800’s as the area’s
oil reserves were being developed. It was hoped that another
profitable oil well would result, but when it struck the aquifer,
the well was flooded in a spectacular fashion. Today, this problem
would be addressed, but they lacked the technology to rectify the
problem and the well was abandoned to the water.
The well sits on private property owned first by the Hearne
family and currently by the Kinnicutt family. The endless stream of
water has been a problem at times by flooding basements, creating
ice and slick conditions. The well has recently gotten a new
cap.
Please do not touch or approach the well too closely – the
rocks are very slippery and footing is very hazardous. The well is
not 15 ft from the road and the shoulders of the road are broad.
Your best viewing of this feature is approaching it from the west,
traveling east on State Route 417, just east of the Village of
Bolivar and near Kossuth.
Flowing artesian wells
Water is forced upward under pressure in the well you see at these
coordinates. The water in an artesian well flows from an aquifer,
which is a layer of very porous rock or sediment, usually
sandstone, capable of holding and transmitting large quantities of
water. The geologic conditions necessary for an artesian well are
an inclined aquifer sandwiched between impervious rock layers above
and below that trap water in it. Water enters the exposed edge of
the aquifer at a high elevation and percolates downward through
interconnected pore spaces. The water held in these spaces is under
pressure because of the weight of water in the portion of the
aquifer above it. If a well is drilled from the land surface
through the overlying impervious layer into the aquifer, this
pressure will cause the water to rise in the well. In areas where
the slope of the aquifer is great enough, pressure will drive the
water above ground level in a spectacular, permanent fountain. This
is the case in this well.
To claim this cache answer the following questions: 1) How many
spouts are flowing on the cap, including the top? 2)What has the
weather been like in the previous week? Previous month? 3)How does
the weather, both short and long-term, relate to the amount of
water/number of spouts running?
All logs that are posted before you receive an answer from the
owner will be DELETED! Please wait for verification of your find.
Unless I am traveling (rare) I check my emails EVERY day.
