Before the 19th century, this inexhaustible source of pure water was a marvel to Indians and frontiersmen alike. John Hunt, an early settler, built a cabin near this site by 1805. The spring became a major attraction at the land sales of 1809, when LeRoy Pope outbid all others. By 1823, spring water was being pumped 96 feet through hollowed cedar logs to a reservoir on the town square, making it one of the earliest waterworks in the country. In 1843, LeRoy Pope's son, William H. Pope, deeded the site to Huntsville for one dollar. Until 1957, the spring was the main source of fresh water for Huntsville's citizens, and for thirty years prior to 1950, revenue from water sales was the largest single source of income for the city's General Fund. A park and picnic ground was developed around the spring in 1898, and before that and for many years afterward, great crowds attended religious baptisms held below the small dam at the spring.