From The Mountain, by R. M. S. Jackson, M.D.
published by J. B. Lippincott & Co., Philadelphia, PA, 1860.
p. 179, "Alabama Springs"... courtesy of Penn State Univ. Library
(http://www.libraries.psu.edu/do/digitalbookshelf/28207996/28207996_part_05.pdf)

The most celebrated are "'BLADON SPRINGS." The analysis
of their waters shows the presence of sulphuretted hydrogen
and carbonic acid gases, chloride of sodium, carbonates
of soda, lime, and magnesia, oxide of iron, sulphate
of lime, silica, and alumina, crenic and apocrenic acid. The
carbonate of soda is the leading element of this water. It
has been examined by Professor Brumby, and has reputation
in stomach and kidney derangements. These springs
are in Clarke County, near Coffeeville.

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I now have a gallon of this water sitting in my refrigerator. Last week, I visited my family in west Alabama for a wonderful Christmas holiday, and then went down to Atmore (in south Alabama) to visit my girlfriend. On the way to Atmore, I made a short side-trip to Bladon Springs State Park, which I'd never visited in 20 years of living in Choctaw County (where the springs actually are; Dr. Jackson was wrong!).

In the 1800s, the Bladon Springs provided a popular health resort, famed for its sulfur water. When I arrived around 9:30 Thursday morning, I found the park completely uninhabited; there was a Park Service truck sitting near one of the sheds, but nobody else in sight. After nosing around for a bit (noting the two picnic pavilions and about 10 RV day-camping spots, complete with power hookups), I began to wonder where the famous mineral waters could be found. I hadn't seen anything resembling a water fountain yet. However, as I was leaving the RV area, I noticed a side-road leading downhill... it looked like a Park Service road, but there were no signs telling me not to go that way, so off I went... and found the famous spas at the bottom of the hill.

There are four bathing areas down there. Three of them are big enough to hold about 10-12 bathers; the fourth is much larger and covered by a pavilion. The big one could probably hold several dozen bathers; it had not one but two hand pumps for delivering the goodness from below. Of course, the middle of winter is no time for bathing, so all of the tubs were empty save for a little water collected in the bottom. All of them, however, were lined with a lovely bright-yellow layer of sulfur.

Well, I'd come to get some of the water... so, after looking at the spas, I retrieved a gallon jug from my car and came back to try my hand at pumping up some of the stuff from the largest of the spas. The first pump yielded nothing at all; it needed to be primed... but the lower pump of the spa rewarded my efforts immediately with a flow of cold water... but not clear water. It came out a light but not cloudy yellow, and remained so even after a couple of dozen strokes of the pump, so I decided that was just how it was supposed to look. I caught some of the stuff in a cup I'd also brought along and noted that, in addition to being yellow, the water also had a few bits of stuff floating around in it... probably sulfur-bacteria sludge from the depths of the well.

Oh, yeah... the water smelled just as I expected it would. There was a definite sulfurous odor, reminiscent of rotten eggs, but not so bad as to completely put me off. I'd checked up on the water's safety before coming down and found that it's safe to drink despite its unusual color, odor, and bacterial contamination; sulfur bacteria are harmless to humans. So, once I got a cup that was mostly free of the floaty bits, I waited for those few bits to settle to the bottom and took a sip. And another... and... well, it wasn't really as bad as the smell suggested it might. The sulfur compounds dissolved in the water give it a slightly musty -- but not unpleasant -- taste. It tasted, in fact, much as the water at my grandfather's old house tasted... just stronger. Grandpa's well had sulfur and iron in the water... poor for making coffee, but just fine for drinking as long as it's COLD. Dr. Jackson may claim that carbonate of soda is the leading element, but to the tongue and nose, it's the sulfur that wins!


On the way out, I met a couple of Park Service employees just coming in to retrieve their truck. One of 'em asked me why I was there in the middle of winter... I told him I was there to get some of the water and asked him if it was safe for drinking. "Yup, the locals drink it all the time. It's s'posed to be real healthy...but I don't much like the way it smells!" In talking with him some more, I found out that, during the summer, those same locals come out to enjoy a cool dip in the spas... it really is a pretty little park.

I'm glad I took the time to visit and experience a bit of Choctaw County's history... it's something I've been meaning to do for a couple of years!

If you're local and feeling particularly brave, you're welcome to try a cup of the funkiest spring water I've ever encountered. I had a full 16 oz. of it myself and it didn't make me sick at all. :)