A reliable source of water has long drawn people to this site. Prehistoric people used it as a temporary camp while hunting and gathering stone for tool making. From 1838 to 1854, troops posted to Fort Towson traveled the military road one mile northeast of the spring as a regular thoroughfare, and soldiers relied on the spring to water horses. In the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps built the first recreation facilities along this road, including a picnic area and a structure around the spring. The rock walls and entrance station remain.