Manitou Springs Mineral Springs Walking Tour - Clio

Entries on This Tour

1. 7 Minute Mineral Spring

The crowning jewel of many restorations by the Mineral Springs Foundation, the gazebo at 7 Minute Spring Park incorporates the 1880’s design of a structure that once sheltered the popular Ute Iron spring on Ruxton Avenue. In 1909, 7 Minute spring was drilled adjacent to the site of the former Manitou House hotel and produced a geysering event every 7 minutes. A replacement well was drilled in 1993, along with the development of the surrounding 7 Minute Spring Park. Two fonts were designed by Bill Burgess and Don Green in collaboration with Maxine Green.

2. Shoshone Mineral Spring

Mineral water from Shoshone Spring may contain the greatest amount of deep-seated water rising from the aquifer system. It has some of the highest amounts of mineral content, and it’s the warmest with a temperature just over 70 degrees Fahrenheit. The chalk-white deposit left by the mineral water on its font is travertine, derived from dissolved limestone and dolomite layered in the underground karst aquifer.

3. Navajo Mineral Spring

Navajo Spring was near the Ute Pass Trail and was a rendezvous for indigenous peoples, explorers and early settlers. The font is located on the back outside wall of current-day Patsy’s Candies Store. The candy store was originally a sampling room for the bottling works. Bubbling up from the depths of earth, minerals in this natural soda spring created a large basin or pool, making this a popular stopping place for American Indian tribes and early explorers.

4. Cheyenne Mineral Spring

Cheyenne spring is another natural Cheyenne Spring artesian soda spring, though it wasn’t developed commercially until 1893, when the Manitou Mineral Water Co. built a stone spring house around it and conveyed the water and gas to their bottling plant. The water is now piped to the cast bronze font designed and fabricated by sculptor Paul Rogers.

5. Wheeler Mineral Spring

Jerome B.Wheeler, famous for his banking, mining, and railroad interests in both Manitou Springs and Aspen, owned a large estate called Windemere just beyond this site. He is best known in this area for building the Manitou Mineral Water Co. bottling plant and the Town Clock. His son-in-law drilled this spring in his honor in 1920. The font was created by Randy Bowen.

6. Stratton Mineral Spring

Named after Winfield Scott Stratton of Stratton Spring Cripple Creek mining fame, this spring was drilled in 1936. In previous years, Stratton’s trolley system would turn around here at the “loop” and passengers could transfer to the smaller “Dinky” trolley that continued up Ruxton Ave. to the Cog Railway. The bronze sculpture at this font was created by Fred Darpino.

7. Twin Mineral Spring

Twin spring, drilled in the 1920’s by William S. Crosby, is named for two flows of mineral water from different depths that are combined at this font. This sweet tasting soda water is favored by locals in mineral water lemonade. The font was designed and cast by Kerstin Eriksson, depicting a whimsical scene of Manitou and surrounding features. While visiting, please stop by the Manitou Springs Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau to pick up a free mineral springs brochure, detailed content chart and sampling cup. Our staff and volunteers will be glad to help you locate all of the springs and share their tasting experiences with you. These special healing waters cannot be found anywhere else.

8. Iron Mineral Spring Geyser

Manitou Springs’ iron-rich mineral Iron Spring Geyser waters along the upper Ruxton corridor became so popular that Joseph Hiestand drilled this spring in 1910 to increase the supply. The pavilion is original and housed a large hand-blown glass font with electric light to showcase the effervescent spring waters. The current font was designed and constructed by Steve Wood.

This Tour is a Walking Tour.

Manitou Springs Mineral Springs Walking Tour

Created by Joan Stang on April 8th 2021, 5:51:18 pm.

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Description

This is an approximately 1.1 mile walking tour of the Manitou Springs Mineral Springs Foundation's 8 historic sparkling mineral springs. The springs were created from deep-seated waters rising through the Rampart Range and Ute Pass faults of the Williams Canyon and Fountain Creek watershed basins limestone remnant karst geological aquifer. Historically, people would visit Manitou Springs to drink the waters stating the minerals had positive health effects. Manitou Springs is more than just a quaint resort town and suburb a few miles west of Colorado Springs – it’s where “The Springs” got its name. The Native American tribes who inhabited this area for centuries believed that the mineral waters of Manitou Springs had medicinal effects, and that belief was passed onto the first European residents of the Pikes Peak region. The rich history of Manitou Springs’ water continues long after the first settlers arrived. City founder General William Jackson Palmer fulfilled his dreams of building a small resort town to take advantage of the healing waters. Soon Manitou became a hub for those who looking to recover from tuberculosis and other ailments. Businessmen such as Jerome B. Wheeler took advantage of the delicious waters and started the Manitou Mineral Water Company to share the taste with those as far away as New York.

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