History
Springs could offer a cool drink on a hot day or water with which to cook or bathe in. Many early settlers would build houses near springs for drinking purposes and also water their livestock. This was especially important during the winter months, when other sources of fresh water were frozen; springs could often be found flowing freely. This area of Maryland is rich with Limestone and sand which helps the spring water flow to the surface.
The listed coordinates will take you to a very historic place. The healing waters of “Ye Coole Springs of St Marie’s” happen to be the site of the second oldest hospital in the original 13 colonies. When the colonists first arrived in Maryland, they brought with them the rudimentary medical tools of the day, and usually just one general practitioner or surgeon as they were often called. What they left behind were conveniences such as hospitals and sanitariums dedicated to treating the sick. Along with the lack of more advanced medical supplies, they encountered new and different illnesses brought on by their new environment and altered diet.
Papers discovered around the turn of the 20th century indicate that the earliest settlers in Southern Maryland were concerned with the health and welfare of those living in the area. Father Andrew White wrote to Lord Baltimore in late February of 1638, just four years after Maryland was founded, explaining the need for better medical care and his concern over the colonists' diet and well being. He alludes to the "eating of flesh and drinking salt waters and wine by advice of our Chirurgian." (Chirurgian, also spelled chirurgien, is the French term for surgeon.) And it appears that Father White was unhappy with the care and advice of the surgeon or doctor who was serving the area during that time.
Aquifers
Deep below the ground in Maryland lays a layer of porous limestone or dolostone known as an Aquifer. An aquifer is the primary source of a spring’s drinking water. Above and below the aquifer are other layers of gravel, sand, clay, dolomite, or limestone.
In some places, the Aquifer's limestone layers are thousands of feet thick; in others, the layers are shallow. Water is able to flow through the limestone's many interconnected holes and empty spaces. The result is a unique and complex terrain that scientists call "karst" geology – land whose shape is influenced by the dissolving of underground limestone layers.
About 20 percent of the land surface in the U.S. is classified as karst. Other parts of the world with large areas of karst include China, Europe, the Caribbean, and Australia. In the United States, about 40% of the ground water used for drinking comes from karst aquifers. Karst is a German word derived from the Slovenian "Kras" which means bare, stony ground. It was originally used to describe a limestone plateau near Trieste, Slovenia. Now the term means any landscape with distinctive landforms and hydrology shaped by the dissolution of a layer or layers of soluble bedrock, usually carbonate rock such as limestone (calcium carbonate, CaCO3) or dolomite (calcium magnesium carbonate, CaMg(CO3)2). Both of these rock types are slightly soluble in water. Karst terrain is characterized by springs, caves, sinkholes, and aquifers that are highly productive.
Sediment
Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of wind, water, or ice, and/or by the force of gravity acting on the particle itself. In this case, sediment is brought to the surface by the water eroding the materials it flows. Sediment can and will leave its mark behind on vegetation and other rocks it comes in contact with in the area of this spring.
What is a spring?
The United States Geological Society defines a spring as a natural flow of groundwater from a rock opening that results when the water table intersects a sloping land surface.
Springs can be seasonal—for example, during the wet season the saturated zone is closer to the surface because of increased rainfall, often resulting in more springs. This would be called an ephemeral spring where as a natural spring that always flows is called a perennial spring.
Not all springs are safe to drink based on the minerals in the ground below but this one is still just as pure as it was the day the early settlers in Maryland arrived. Enjoy the history and the fresh water!
To claim credit for the find, please email me the answers to these questions:
- Is the spring ephemeral, or perennial?
- What year was this area dedicated?
- What is the color of the sediment around the spring?
- What do you believe this sediment is?
Citations:
Warren, K. (2011, March 01). The healing waters of "ye coole springs of st. marie's". Retrieved from http://somdthisisliving.somd.com/ezine/articles/the_healing_waters_of_ye_coole_springs_of_st._maries
USGS. (2012, December 11). The water cycle: Springs. Retrieved from http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/watercyclesprings.html