COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) – If you have ever filled a cup or jug at one of Manitou Springs’ public fountains, you have tasted a piece of Colorado history that once fueled a booming, multi-million-dollar bottling industry.
Manitou Springs was founded in 1872 by General William Jackson Palmer and Dr. William Bell as a health retreat to treat tuberculosis, carrying on a sacred tradition of Indigenous tribes who long revered the mineral springs as a peaceful sanctuary for healing.
Entrepreneurs soon realized the commercial potential underground, sparking a cutthroat rivalry between the downtown Manitou Mineral Water Company and the Ute Chief Bottling Company on the west end of town. At its peak, the town shipped millions of bottles across the country and overseas to high-end dining tables in New York, Philadelphia, and Paris…