Great Medicine Spring well work at Theodore Wirth Park

The Great Medicine Spring The attempt to restart flow of good water	A project of The Friends of the Wild Flower Garden, Inc and the Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board.

The Great Medicine Spring became part of the history of The Friends of the Wild Flower when The Friends agreed to fund a new well to try to reactivate the spring. In the Spring of 2000 Friends President Steve Pundt wrote about the history of that involvement. Subsequent events which led to the virtual abandonment of the old spring are also reported below. Saratoga Springs was the original name of Wirth Park and, as the name suggests, there was a time when the area’s water table was much higher and springs and seeps were everywhere. Friends' member J. S. Futcher remembers that when he was a kid in the 1940s there were three main springs in the area of Garden - the Great Medicine Spring being considered the main one; another on the northwest corner of Glenwood and Theodore Wirth Parkway; and one to the east of the back gate of the Garden. (Read more of Futcher)
Steve Pundt wrote: "In her carefully researched biography of Eloise Butler, Martha Hellander wrote that the spring located southeast of the intersection of Wirth Parkway and Glenwood Avenue was apparently the Great Medicine Spring which had been described in 1880s articles and books about Minnesota geology and history. It was reported that Indians traveled great distances to drink from the spring because of the medicinal properties of its water. When Sally (Mrs. Pundt) and I first discovered the Garden over 20 years ago, we also came across the old spring. We stood in line with others who were filling bottles and jugs. I remember one elderly man who claimed he drank nothing other than water from this spring! The water was cold, clear, and tasted great. It is a true spring - the water flows from the earth on its own, but the strength of the flow has always varied considerably. The flow decreased substantially, and stayed low, after the construction of the Highway 100/394 intersection. The quality has declined too. To increase the water flow and quality, the Friends’ Board hired Renner Well Company to drill a well at the site of the spring. [The well was completed on January 29, 1999] The result was disappointing. The water was no better. It turned yellow and tasted bad, not all what we remembered. The Renner Well people have been great to work with. At a special Board meeting in February [2000], they explained that the “spring water” we remembered was probably from a shallow well, primarily fed by rainwater. The old well pipe is only about 30 feet down, based on Renner’s information about the Park Board wells which date to 1906-1912.
	Above: The E. H. Renner & Sons drill rig at the site of the Great Medicine Spring, January 1999.
	Other wells in the park system are much deeper, 300-450 feet, into the Shakopee-Jordan aquifer. When drilling our well, Renner hit a strong flow of water at only 135 feet down. Drilling all the way down to the aquifer would have required double casing and would be very expensive. Renner recommended pumping out a large quantity of water to try and clean the spring water. This was done at the end of March [2000]. The results were good. Taste and clarity were improved. To improve the flow of the water Renner is to install a hand pump. To improve the appearance of the area and the spring, the Park Board landscape architect is designing a site plan. To educate the public about the historic significance of the spring, the Friends will fund interpretive signage. Our long-term vision is to upgrade the entire entrance area off Wirth Parkway with improved landscaping and signage.” The above was the state of affairs in the spring of 2000.
Above: The hand pump installed on the well head
Subsequent Events 2000 - 2010
There were new developments in 2000. The spring did not flow at the previous rate. A report dated February 15, 2000. was received by the Friends from Renner & Sons who had redrilled the well at the Great Medicine Spring the previous year (winter of 1999-2000). They addressed the reduction in flow from the spring. During the winter of 1999-2000 the well had been allowed to flow freely (as Steve Pundt mentioned in his article ) to prevent freezing and now a hand pump was discussed as the practical option to install. Renner’s report stated “We originally anticipated a flow rate of 5 to 7 gallons per minute, which would prevent freezing, and hoped that a hand pump would not be needed. The well initially produced this volume. However the flow quickly diminished, over the next couple of days, to its current rate (approx. 1 gallon per minute). The Well has flowed through the winter which makes us very optimistic that it will not freeze as long as we allow it to continue. With the current configuration (see diagram) a hand pump could be installed and we would not expect any alteration in the flow rate of the well.”
	Above: The old spring drainage basin with the new well and pump in the background. Click on image for larger image.
	Below: The configuration of the new well placement with its connection to the old spring drainage basin. Diagram by E. H. Renner & Sons.


The hand pump was installed in the summer of 2000 but water flow declined even more from the initial good flow and the purity of the water was in question. In addition, landscape work around the new well construction site still had to be finished. Eventually, public access to the spring was discouraged, first by the Park Board removing signage about the spring from the parking lot area along the entrance road to the Garden and then several years later by removing the spring parking area entirely. The landscaping completed around the well and drainage basin is shown in the photo as it was 2008.
Most recently 2011 - 2012

On May 22nd, 2011 a powerful tornado began its destructive path near Glenwood Ave and Theodore Wirth Parkway, just west of the old spring. There was damage within Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden, but the heaviest damage was just to the north, including the area of the old spring. The photo of the Garden entrance road was taken by Judy Remington just after the storm. The other three photos show the condition of the site 14 months later on July 25, 2012. Gone are the trees and the appearance of previous landscaping. Water still drips from the pipe outlet of the spring, but all is abandoned and nature begins her reclaiming process. (Photos - G. B. Bebeau).




©2010, 2013 Friends of the Wild Flower Garden, Inc. All photos are the property of The Friends. Text compiled and edited by Gary Bebeau. "www.friendsofeloisebutler.org" 022113

The Great Medicine Spring