Hygeia Spring

Hygeia Spring, named after the Greek Goddess of health, was located at the southwest corner of West and Wisconsin Avenues. Albert Carver and Edward Flannery opened the spring in 1872, later selling the spring to James C. McElroy.

McElroy intended to create a pipeline from Hygeia Spring to the 1893 Chicago Columbian Exposition, in order to provide Waukesha's renown spring water "directly from the source." While the village of Waukesha initially approved the pipeline, the community and other spring businesses successfully pressured village leaders to recind the approval. McElroy was determined to see his vision fulfilled and this resulted in what was referred to as the Great Pipeline Battle.

Opened in 1872, Hygeia spring was named for the Greek goddess of health and wellness. Opened and developed beginning in 1872 by Albert Carver and Edward Flannery, Hygeia Spring, named for the Greek Goddess of health, was located at the southwest corner of West and Wisconsin Avenues. The Hygeia springhouse, was one of the most opulent springhouse in Waukesha, and certainly one of the largest and most expensive. The pavilion was built from timber and plaster in the shape and style of a Greek temple, with rows of fluted columns, and a statue of the goddess Hygeia overlooking the stairway down to the spring. Slabs of local limestone lined the spring basin, with the spring itself lined with a circle of cut limestone. A pump powered by two steam engines could barely keep the tremendous flow of the water at bay during the installation.

On May 20, 1876, Carver sold his portion of Hygeia to Flannery for $1300. In 1882, William H. Anderson, a man who figured prominently in many Waukesha springs, leased Hygeia for five years from Flannery. He had the building adjoining the spring made into an office and reception house. In 1884, Anderson left Hygeia when he was appointed manager of Silurian Spring. Flannery sold his spring to Camilla A. Smith. Her home still stands on the corner of West and Park Avenues.

The Chicago Columbian Exposition drew the attention of companies anxious to attract international attention. Waueksha Spring company was among those looking for business opportunities at the event. In 1891, James McElroy, a Kansas City speculator living in Chicago, came up with a plan to build a pipeline from one of the famous springs in Waukesha down to the Columbian Exposition. There he would sell the water to the millions of visitors expected in attendance. After purchasing the Hygeia Mineral Springs, McElroy started his plan by filing incorporation papers for the Waukesha Hygeia Mineral Spring Company and the Waukesha Pipeline Construction Company in July of 1891. 

McElroy initially received permission from the village board to lay his pipes, but this was rescinded quickly as the people of Waukesha realized that it would be more beneficial to have fair goers come to Waukesha. At that time multiple passenger trains ran daily from Chicago to Waukesha. Nonetheless McElroy proceeded and with his pipeline plan, and purchasing the nearby Glenn Spring as well. A reservoir was constructed, drawing on water from both spring sites, that would supply the pressure for the pipeline. McElroy continued to execute his plan by purchasing land rights all the way to Chicago.

Residents heard rumors that McElroy was continuing with his plan and Village President Sleep set up a watch at the spring to signal if anything was happening.  One Saturday evening in May 1892, while the village slept, a train pulled into the St. Paul Railway Depot with 300 laborers from Chicago, two cars of pipes, one of provisions, and one with horses to begin pipeline construction. They were quickly noticed, and the a fire bell began ringing continuously, waking the residents who mobilized and marched toward the Hygeia Spring carrying rifles, pistols, shovels, and pitchforks. The puzzled workmen stopped in confusion. They had been told they had to lay the pipeline in a hurry and expected to work on Sunday, but they had not been told to expect any opposition. County and village officials attempted to keep order, including local attorneys Timothy Edward Ryan and Theron W. Haight who spoke to the crowd and urged them to be ready and guard the spring, but to not commit any violence. Around 3 am the workmen withdrew, only to return again a few hours later. The alarm sounded again and another confrontation occurred, only this time a tall figure, 'Long Jones,' manager of Bethesda spring, explained to the foreman that they were not welcome and that he could not guarantee their safety. This time the workmen left for good. McElroy was arrested for disturbing the peace and was found to have $8,000 in cash and a revolver in his suit jacket.

The battle dragged on for another year as McElroy persuaded the State Legislature to pass a bill allowing him to lay pipe through the grounds of the nearby Wisconsin State School for Boys. A trainload of 745 citizens headed to Madison to protest the legislation, and Governor Peck vetoed the bill, ending McElroy's plan to run his pipeline through the village.

McElroy, not wanting to give up, purchased another spring just south of Waukesha in the village of Big Bend. He named this spring Hygeia No. 2, so he could claim the water came from the “Hygeia Spring in Waukesha.” The pipeline was laid from Big Bend through Kenosha and Racine counties to the outskirts of the city of Chicago. Because the city of Chicago would also not allow the pipes to be laid in its city, the water was then transported to the Exposition by tanker trucks. Sold for a penny a glass, the water was not received well at the Exposition, as the water had lost it's 'effervescence' in the pipeline and was described as tasting flat.  

The Hygeia Spring was closed after the pipeline controversy. In 1896, J. K. Anderson, who had been involved in Silurian, Arcadian, and Lithia Springs and was the brother of William H. Anderson, purchased the Hygeia Spring that had once been valued at more than $1,000,000 for only $20,000. He formed the Waukesha Water Company with the purchase of Glenn Spring too. Anderson gained public popularity with free admission to the spring. Shortly after his purchase, Anderson proposed that the City of Chicago buy water using the old pipe line installed for the Exposition. Within six years the Waukesha Water Company went into receivership and company assets were sold off to pay the $50,000-$60,000 debt. Hygeia went through a series of owners without renewed success. The Greek temple pavilion was demolished in 1914.

History of Waukesha County, 1880

Schoenknecht, John M. Big Bend 1892 Pipe Line Uncovered. Landmark Magazine. Summer 2007, 24-31.

Schoenknecht, John M. William H. Anderson, James K. Anderson, and Waukesha’s Springs. Landmark Magazine. Spring 1994, 2-15.

Seybold, Charlotte Reid. A Springs Tour. Landmark Magazine. Summer 1968, 9-13.

Waukesha Landmarks Commission. Spring City's Past., Accessed October 22nd 2020.