October, 1908 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



401 



Springhouses Old and New 



By Phebe Westcott Humphreys 



Illustrated by S. Walter Humphreys 



HE very suggestion of a springhouse calls 

 up recollections of quaint, low eaved 

 "homey" farmhouses; the simple life of old- 

 time country homes, and the solidity and 

 picturesque simplicity of ancestral estates. 

 The charm of this home accessory, that 

 was once considered a necessity from an 

 economic standpoint — when it stood for more convenient 

 handling and better prices for the milk and butter of the 

 farm — has come to be an important factor in the home 

 building of to-day. No country estate or farm home now 

 seems quite complete without its picturesque and useful 

 springhouse. Historic structures of crumbling fieldstone 

 and tiny frame shelters guarding the gushing waters of hill 

 slope and valley springs, are no longer hidden from sight 

 by many years' growth of briers and bushes ; but are cleared 

 of obstructions to invite the traveler to refreshing waters, 

 and to add unique beauty to the landscape. The useful 

 springhouse of the farm dairy is adorned with flowering 

 vines and converted into the most decorative feature of the 

 homestead; and even country churches delight in this addi- 

 tional attraction to their church property, where the country 

 members quench their thirst after their long "ride to meet- 

 ing." In fact so widespread has its value become that 



Springhouse at Bernardsville, New Jersey 



about the great stone fireplaces of the past. But I will never 

 be content," he continued, "until I have actually built with 

 my own hands a little springhouse of fieldstone such as I 

 used to love on the old farm back in Ohio." 



And build that springhouse he did ! with huge delight and 

 with the vim and eagerness of boyhood days, a joyous vaca- 

 tion season from town care was spent in constructing a crude 

 but charmingly picturesque springhouse on a hill slope, copied 

 from a low stone structure which he had admired on his 

 frequent travels from his country seat to the city office. 

 "And its chief charm," he gleefully added afterward, "lies 

 in the fact that it cost less than ten dollars complete, as it 

 was built entirely from the rough fieldstone of the surround- 

 ing acres, the only cost being the cement and sand for mortar, 

 and a few fencing boards, hinges and lock for the door." 



This offers a novel suggestion where cost must be taken 

 into consideration. Such a springhouse, built entirely by the 

 owner at odd hours, will require little outside of cement, if 

 the fieldstone is at hand, as no other woodwork except the 

 door and supporting scantling will be required; even the roof 

 being a mere rounding over of the stone, with a rough cast 

 finish of the cement. 



On the Ryers' estate in Philadelphia — in the outskirts of 

 beautiful Germantown — there is a springhouse of note that 

 has attracted attention because of the gift 

 of the estate to the City of Philadelphia as 

 a public park. It might well be taken as a 

 model for springhouse construction, be- 

 cause of its simplicity and convenience. The 

 low stone walls are not remarkable, being 

 simply rough stone and plaster cast; and 

 the little frame addition built at one end, 

 for sheltering the milk cans, is rather di- 

 lapidated, from being twisted out of shape 

 by the roots of a mammoth buttonwood 

 tree, for which the place is famous ; but 

 the principal charm lies in the interior ar- 

 rangement. The big square floor of the 

 main structure is laid with brick, with the 

 exception of a space about eighteen inches 

 wide extending along one end and side. 

 This space has cemented bottom and sides, 

 and is from six to eight inches deep, form- 



homebuilders in all sections are showing 

 their appreciation of the restful beauty of 

 this home accessory, until it gives promise 

 of pervading every farm, home and country 

 estate that possesses a spring of clear, cold 

 water worthy of appropriate shelter. 



A landowner, whose beautiful country 

 estate, with its spreading farm lands on 

 every side, is far dearer to him than his 

 palatial brownstone mansion in town, said 

 to the writer: "The sight of one of these 

 low-browed springhouses among the shel- 

 tering hills and trees, with old-fashioned 

 shrubs and flowers in the nearby garden, 

 connecting it with the adjoining farmhouse, 

 is heartwarming and redolent of the whole- 

 some life and good cheer that centered 



Inside the Springhouse 



