The springhouse is the two story stone structure that will be on your left. The springhouse is an original structure to the site, built around 1774. It is one of the largest springhouses in the Carolinas and very unique because of its stone construction. This is an indication both of Hezekiah’s wealth, and of the importance of the structure on the Alexander plantation. The location of this spring is likely a reason why the Alexanders chose this site for their home.
At some point in the 19th century, the two side walls of this structure collapsed. As you can see on photo [4] in your brochure, the front and back walls and gables remained standing while the sides became rubble. The building was reconstructed in the 1960s to its original shape and size.
The springhouse had two very important functions on the homesite. First, it was a source of very clean water for cooking, drinking, cleaning, and washing. Whereas rainwater and creekwater tend to be contaminated with animal excrement, bacteria, and the like, springwater is naturally filtered through rocks in the ground over thousands of years. Thus, when the spring bubbles up from under the ground, the water is drinkable. Enslaved workers - likely children - would have carried buckets of water up the hill behind you toward the kitchen and Rock House dozens of times per day in order to supply the cooks and other enslaved servants.
Now walk into the springhouse. On a barrel in the corner you will see two jars - one jar of water taken from the creek and one jar of water taken from the spring. There is a clear difference of clarity and visual proof of the difference in water quality.
When you walked into the building, you may have also noticed that the building was a milder temperature than outside. Because the springwater flowing through the building comes from underground where the sun does not shine, the water maintains a stable temperature year round - about 55 degrees fahrenheit - which affects the temperature inside the building. This would have been very useful on a dairy farm where cheese and butter would have filled the first floor of this structure.
On the wall inside the building you will also see a line stained into the wall near the water. This line is a stain from the historic water level of the springhouse. In other words, it shows where the water level used to be, and indicates that the current spring level is quite low. The Museum is working with hydrologists from UNC-Charlotte to figure out the reason for the dropping water level in order to address the problem.
The water in this structure flows in through the hole in the back wall into the pool with the basket of eggs, down into the second pool, and through the smaller hole in the front of the structure which flows into the creek. If you look closely, you may notice the water trickling through the building. Archaeologists estimated in the 1960s that the spring flowed at approximately a gallon per minute, though we believe the flow has slowed significantly in the past decade or so.
Now, exit the building and walk around the building to the back side of the Springhouse. You’ll cross a bridge that goes over a small ditch. Stop on the bridge.
