Where, oh where, are the springs Colorado Springs was named for? A local history trivia question for sure and one visitors frequently ask.
The answer: there really is one spring — just one — but you can no longer get a sip of the natural water from it. All those many familiar artesian springs were and are in the aquifer beneath Manitou Springs.
First, the history: Gen. William Jackson Palmer, our city’s founder, had been in the area of Monument and Fountain creeks in the 1860s planning railroad routes west. Finding an ideal spot with creeks and the mountains just beyond, he set out planning his own “Little London,” perfect for future residents from England and the East Coast elite. It became his Colorado Springs of 1871…