The Springs of Slaterville Springs
The hamlet of Slaterville Springs is named in honor of the town's first teacher, Levi Slater, and the area's 12 artesian wells. The water here was famous for its magnetic and medicinal properties. In 1893, the water from Slaterville Springs won an award at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago for its clarity and excellence, and sold for the rough equivalent of $2.50/gallon. Two hotels - the Fountain House and Magnetic Springs Hotel - accommodated the growing number of tourists who wanted to "take the waters."
This "spa era" declined by 1920 after both hotels were destroyed by separate fires, but today the water from these wells is still clean, clear, and good to drink. So bring a jug and help yourself as the spout here at the Town Hall (originally the Slaterville school and on the National Register of Historic Places) runs all year long, even in the winter...and it's now free for the taking.