Spring House

Our friend Henry Goldrup, the original owner of the Desert of Maine, was the one to notice a natural spring that flowed from the sand near here. Considering the aquifer beneath the surface at the Desert of Maine, it is likely that more of these natural springs will emerge over the years. This one was discovered in 1936, but it was the Polakewiches who had the Spring House built in 1938.

For starters, what is a Spring House? Between the 1890s and 1960s, it became a fad for people in the tourism industry to build small huts or shelters over natural springs. Poland Springs was the most famous in our neck of the woods, but there were hundreds around the country. Like peddlers of some of the other dubious “miracle cures” sweeping the nation at the time, these resorts sold their patrons on the healing properties of spring water, claiming to alleviate a host of illnesses including everything from , diabetes to asthma to malaria, “female troubles,” and—my favorite—”the dropsy” (that is, excess fluid in body cavities, if you’re keeping track).

Mark was no doubt aware of this fad and wanted to capitalize on it himself, hoping visitors would associate the Desert with more upscale establishments like Poland Springs. And it worked to some extent! People would dress in their Sunday best and have their photo taken at the spring house and drink the waters from small paper cups. When the Desert had to close during WWII due to gas rationing, no employees were here to sweep out the sand which blew onto the structure from the prevailing northwesterly winds, so the Spring House became partially buried. Mark Palakowich died unexpectedly during the time the Desert was closed and he left the place to his wife and daughters, Fan, Elaine and Marvis. They were overwhelmed by the new responsibilities running the business, so they never cleared away the sand. Year after year more sand blew onto the structure and by 1962 the top of the roof was finally completely submerged in sand.

In 2020, the current owners decided to dig up the Spring House and after consulting with Henry Goldrup’s son, Henry Goldrup Jr., who lives nearby, they found it under 25ft of sand! The spring is still active and the well and fountain are just as they were in the 1930s. The structure was too rotted out to be saved, so we will be completely rebuilding it this year using historic photos to guide us. Perhaps next year you can come here and get a drink of that magical spring water if you find yourself with a bad case of “the dropsy”.

Now we’re going to walk towards those sheep you see in the distance...