My brother and two of his three children came to visit us this past weekend.
They live in New York City and for them being in Ashland was really different.
We did so many fun things it made me remember how wonderful the small city is where we have chosen to live.
For a city of only 20,000 people, it’s amazing how much there is to do in Ashland, and how much we didn’t get to do in the five days they were here.
Hosting visitors makes you see your own town in a new way, through the eyes of someone who has never been there before.
Ashland certainly looks charming seen from that perspective: the downtown is quaint and lined with boutique stores (though in the present economy there are a few empty storefronts); the town is filled with pedestrians ambling into Zoey’s for ice cream or emerging into the bright sunshine after being in a darkened theater watching a Shakespeare play; the hills stand silent and watchful in the background; and there’s so many restaurants, activities, parks, and adventures to go on that five days with out-of-towners flies by.
One of the things we all “enjoyed” was drinking lithia water from the fountains on the plaza.
Sure, it stinks of rotten eggs.
Sure, the bubbles go straight up your nose.
Sure, the taste is “a lot better after you get used to it,” according to my 8-year-old daughter and “disgusting,” according to my 5-year-old.
But there’s something magical about drinking it (perhaps all that lithium went to my head?). It connects you to the past in an interesting way—to when developers were thinking Ashland could have hot springs like Bath in England, and attract tourists that way.
Here’s what the brand new sign says, since it’s hard to read from this photo:
“The Lithia Fountain was installed on the Ashland Plaza in 1927. In the early 1900s Lithia Water, which comes from the Pompadour Chief Spring, nearly 4 miles east of downtown, was the focus of a city-wide development plan that hoped to transform Ashland into a mineral-springs based resort. Under the slogan, “Ashland grows as Lithia flows,” Ashland’s citizens based a $175,000 bond in 1914 to develop Lithia Park and build a pump and distribution for the highly mineralized water. Although the system was built, the plan largely fizzled, at least in part due to the wood stave piping which quickly became clogged by mineral build-up that restricted flow.
Interest in Lithia Water was revived in the 1920s when a local group sought permission to bottle the water for sale, a venture which had little success due to the water’s pungent taste and aroma. In 1927 the Ashland Chamber of Commerce petitioned the City Council to make Lithia Water available on the Plaza. The Lithia Fountain, built of locally quarried Ashland granite, was installed later that year.”
Published: August 19, 2009
Last update: January 24, 2020
ruth pennebaker says
What a great idea — to look at your hometown through the eyes of visitors — and what a funny and fascinating piece of local history, Jennifer.
Vera Marie Badertscher says
P-U. Glad I didn’t have to drink that water! Funny, I was in a town in Texas not long ago where the old timers thought they were going to have a fancy resort because of the water. That one fizzled, too.
But I agree with Ruth, it’s fun to “discover” your own home town, and most of us do it only when we have visitors.
Vera
Alexandra Grabbe says
We had springs like the one in Ashland when I lived in France. There was one at the local supermarket. People would bring their own bottles and fill them up. (We did not know about the dangers of plastic bottles back then.) The spring was eventually closed, because, of course, private water companies wanted customers to buy bottled water. That was a shame. Too bad Ashland water doesn’t taste better!
Donna Hull says
I’m not sure I’d want to smell or taste the lithia water but the history is fascinating. Thanks for a glimpse of small town tourism.
Brette Sember says
That’s weird and interesting!
Kerry Dexter says
interesting hisotry, Jennifer — and I’ll bet your relatives entertain their friends back in NYC with tales of Lithia water as well as the other things you showed them about Ashland.
Almost Slowfood says
I love natural springs be they stinky or not! My family goes to the hot springs and Capon Springs in West Virginia and my 95 year old grandmother swears by the waters and their healing powers. Not sure about the healing part, but there is something nice about drinking pure, untouched water from the source.
jordan says
im looking for a certain aricle. i was in this when i was younger, but i cant seem too find it.
im thinking it was around 2003? and my name is jordan i was drinking the water and i had glasses on in the picture.
i was wondering if you would know how i could find the article?
email back if you know. THANKS(: