Spring with Stilling Box

Clay Hill Memorial Forest has many springs. Springs at Clay Hill do not produce tremendous amounts of water but are considered to be seeping springs. The cap rock at Clay Hill Memorial Forest is limestone. Water dissolves limestone so the rock has many fissures and voids in it. Ground water seeps downward through the limestone until it comes to a rock that does not dissolve in water. At Clay Hill that rock is siltstone or shale. When the water contacts rock it can not dissolve, it flows along the surface until that rock is exposed generally on the side of a hill. There it forms springs.

Because our springs do not produce a lot of water, pioneers enlarged a basin at this spring so that water could accumulate there over time. The basin on this spring is about 20 feet in diameter. We believe that this spring may have had a stilling box in its center. This was essentially a box without a lid or bottom. When slaves entered the spring to collect water, they could wade into its edge without muddying the water inside the box. We have found barrel hoops, chamber pots and other items near this spring.

To Learn more try this YouTube video: How do Water Springs Work?                

 Published 30 May 2014 ;  last modified 28 March 2018          © Clay Hill Memorial Forest 2014