Big Spring is a natural groundwater outlet found in Talleyrand Park in downtown Bellefonte, noteworthy for both its unique geology and its historical significance.
The powerful spring forms a pool at the edge of the park. Some of its discharge is captured by a pumphouse for municipal use and sale to businesses, while the rest forms a robust stream that flows a short distance into Spring Creek.
Big Spring discharges 15 million gallons of water a day and has done so since Bellefonte was founded in 1795, and likely for thousands of years before that. The waterflow from the spring has remained consistent regardless of weather or time of year.
The spring serves as the drinking-water source for Bellefonte, Milesburg, and several nearby townships. It has been praised for providing the “best tasting” water in the commonwealth by the Pennsylvania Rural Water Association. Some of the water is sold to Coca-Cola and Big Spring Spirits in the nearby Pennsylvania Match Factory, which uses the water for its craft alcoholic beverages.
The spring’s discharge pool is visible from South Water Street at the southeastern corner of Talleyrand Park, although since the 1990s it has been covered by a protective tarp to satisfy the requirements of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974. Each tarp has a life expectancy of about twenty years, and when an old one must be replaced, the pool becomes temporarily visible to the public. This last happened in 2016.
Big Spring’s unusual power and volume can be attributed to the geology of the Spring Creek watershed. The area is underlain by “karst” topography – the term for a predominantly limestone structure that is easily eroded by groundwater that originates as snow and rain on the surface.
Eons of groundwater erosion have resulted in underground caves and other voids that store large amounts of water trickling in from a wide geographic area. When those gaps fill, pressure forces the water upward to form myriad springs and rivulets. These become small streams that flow into Spring Creek. Big Spring in Bellefonte happens to be the location where the most water charges to the surface.
Big Spring has been credited in part for supporting the founding of Bellefonte and its growth as the seat of government for Centre County. The borough’s name, derived from the French phrase for a “beautiful fountain,” is believed by some to be a reference to the spring.
Big Spring was first utilized directly for town use in 1807, when a local businessman named James Smith built a water delivery system that connected the spring to homes via wooden pipes. The spring later was deeded to Bellefonte as a public source of water.
The reliable supply of water has been credited with supporting the town’s early development. Since the quantity of water offered by the spring is much more than that needed for municipal uses, the surplus has long been a source of revenue.
Big Spring is one of the features of Talleyrand Park, which was built in the 1970s and has become a popular recreation and gathering space in downtown Bellefonte. The park has expanded along Water Street to include the spring and pump station.
Ben Cramer
Sources:
Fulton, John W., Edward H. Koerkle, Steven D. McAuley, Scott A. Hoffman, and Linda F. Zarr. “Hydrogeologic Setting and Conceptual Hydrologic Model of the Spring Creek Basin, Centre County, Pennsylvania, June 2005,” U.S. Department of the Interior and U.S. Geological Survey, Scientific Investigations Report 2005-5091, https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2005/5091/sir2005-5091.pdf (Accessed October 8, 2024).
Gosalvez, Emma. “Beneath the Cover: Shining a Light on the Significance of Bellefonte’s Big Spring.” The Express (Lock Haven, PA), Sept. 10, 2016, https://www.lockhaven.com/news/local-news/2016/09/beneath-the-cover-shining-a-light-on-the-significance-of-bellefonte-s-big-spring/ (Accessed October 8, 2024).
Wagner, Curtis. “Bellefonte’s Big Spring: The Mainspring of the Fountain of Governors,” https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/c62482f636c945e3a7cb742bf7d04a19 (Accessed October 8, 2024).
First Published: October 28, 2024
Last Modified: November 15, 2024