Millions of years ago, the Midwest region of North America lay beneath a great inland sea that deposited virgin white Cambrian sandstone. As the sea filled in, most of this sandstone was buried thousands of feet below the surface, but its rim remained exposed for thousands of years until glaciers gradually scraped it away, leaving a single outcropping. That outcropping became the source of Chippewa Spring, a hillside spring of crystal clear, naturally pure water. In 1700, French explorer Pierre LeSueur discovered the spring and recorded in his journal that he heard the legend of Hiawatha. American poet Ezra Pound later used this as the basis for a poem celebrating Chippewa Spring water as the love potion with which Hiawatha wooed Minnehaha. In 1887, Wisconsin Governor Thaddeus Pound believed the spring water had restored his health, bought the surrounding land, and developed a farm with vineyards, gardens, walking paths, and a health club. Chippewa Spring Water was shipped coast to coast on railroad dining cars and became the official water in Chicago hospitals. The Pillsburys of Minneapolis owned Chippewa Springs from 1936 to 1957. In 1993, a restoration project to save the 100 year old Spring House was carried out jointly by the company and the community, and the restored white spring house, with a glass floor, underground lighting, and trillium pathway, was rededicated by Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson during Chippewa Falls' Pure Water Days celebration, 100 years to the day after its original dedication.