Hidden away in the little village of New Market, Tennessee is 'Houston's Mineral Water' well, which has been going strong since 1931.
Come and learn the fascinating story of how this well was drilled and discovered by the owner's grandfather, as you read the newspaper clippings along the walls of the well building.
Purchasing water is NOT a requirement to log this cache. However, if you want to buy some of the well water, bring your own gallon container and leave 50 cents (honor system) for your purchase.
The HISTORY
In 1931, a doctor informed Bill A. Houston that his kidney disease would kill him soon.
Bill was sitting at home when he had a vision. He was told by an angel to walk out his door to a specific spot near his house, mark it with a stick, and then drill a well exactly 252 feet deep. The water from that well, he was assured, would cure him.
Bill's neighbors thought he was nuts. The man Bill hired to drill the well struck water at 90 feet, then at 160 feet. Bill told him to seal off those waters and keep drilling. At 252 feet the well driller struck water again. As Mr. Houston drank the water, he felt better,and a few weeks later his baffled doctor told him he was cured. And he lived another 22 years and died of an accident, not an illness.
The GEOLOGY
Water (groundwater, rain) infiltrates through overlying rock and/or earth materials directly into the aquifer below. The water passes downward until it reaches the saturated zone of the aquifer, where all the pore spaces are filled with water.
For most usable water, 90 feet is more than acceptable. The water at Houston's Well comes from a stacked sequence of at least three aquifers, to a depth of 252 feet.
The EARTH CACHE
The well is on private property (we have been given permission for this Earth Cache), but open to the public. It is open from 8 am to 8 pm. Parking is in the back.
Send the following answers to the Cache Owner:
1. Which of the three depths of the aquifers would be likely to have more contaminants? Which would have less contaminants?
2. When observing the water, what does it smell like? (Sulfur? Rotten eggs? No smell?)
3. When tasting the well water, what does it taste like? (Is it bitter? Can you taste chlorine or is there no taste?)
4. What does the water look like? (color, do you see any calcification?)
5. What would you say is the temperature of the water?
6. As you look through the newspaper clippings on the walls of the well building, look at the those behind the door, and locate the picture of one of the original labels and tell me what product was originally in the recycled bottles that Mr. Houston used for some of the water.
Do not post these answers in your log. Send directly to the CO.
In your online log, however, please post a selfie of yourself at the well.