Hobo Spring

Hobo Spring, located in present day Frame Park, is one of two springs that were located here. The other spring, Asahel, was located where the Frame Formal Gardens currently are. Hobo Spring was most likely improved and walled in between 1880 and 1892. The spring was never commercialized like many of Waukesha's other springs and was often used by the hobos who came off the Soo Railroad line nearby, hence the name. The spring was not well maintained and was often unnoticed. By 1990 the spring was in very poor shape. It was restored in July of 1997 with efforts from the Waukesha 1834 club, The City of Waukesha Landmarks Commission, Halquist stone, and several other community and private organizations.

Not too much is known about the early history of Hobo spring, but it first appears on maps in 1891. The spring was named for the hobos who would congregate at it after hitching rides off the nearby Soo railway line. Hobo spring was often overlooked even during the resort era of Waukesha in the late 19th century. It never had an ornate springhouse to protect the waters, like most of Waukesha's springs at the time did. On top of this, it was located nearby to two larger and more successful springs, Orchard and White Rock. Also unlike many of Waukesha's springs, Hobo spring was never commercialized, and its waters never bottled for sale. All this leads to a bit of mystery surrounding the origins of this spring. In an interview with Waukesha photographer Warren O'Brien in the February 9, 1968 Waukesha Freeman newspaper, it was revealed that the Hobo spring once belonged to his grandfather, James O'Brien, and then sold to the Waukesha White Rock Spring Company in about 1885.

The City of Waukesha bought Frame park in 1927/1928. In acquiring the park they also acquired Hobo spring. The spring remained part of the park, but was neglected and fell into a state of disrepair. The water from the spring was tested in 1974 and found to be contaminated and unsafe for drinking. The outlet of the spring was walled in in the 70s, and the entire spring became flooded and filled with weeds. A restoration was planned in 1994, and work on restoring the spring started in 1997. A team of volunteers under the supervision of former Landmarks Commission Chairman Debi Hankel put lots of hard work into restoring the spring, having to dismantle and reconstruct the entire wall around the spring, removing weeds and mud from the spring's basin, putting the large stone steps back into place, and rebuilding the wading pool.

The type of stone used to originally construct the spring is very rare, and only found within a 45 mile radius of Waukesha. This type of stone had not been available for over 50 years, but it just so happened that during the time of Hobo Spring's restoration, the local Halquist stone company was given the chance to mine a batch of it. The restoration would not have been possible if it wasn't for this, and Halquist stone donated all the stone needed in the restoration.

A dedication ceremony was held in the autumn of 1997. The ribbon was cut by Mayor Carol Opel. Hobo spring remains a key landmark in Waukesha. A stark reminder of a time when Waukesha was known world wide for its spring water. Today anyone can go visit Hobo Spring and feel for themselves the crystal clear cold water that once made Waukesha famous.

Schoenknect, John Martin. The Great Waukesha Springs Era 1868-1918. Waukesha, Wisconsin. 2003.

Spring City's Past, Waukesha Landmarks Commission, January 2002.

Waukesha Freeman, Waukesha, WI, February 9, 1968