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All the United States Pennsylvania Wexford Fountain of Youth

Fountain of Youth

A stone arch leads to a cavernous 1930s spring house tucked away in the Pennsylvania woods.

Wexford, Pennsylvania

Added By
Rebekah Gamble
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The entrance and disk announcing the Fountain of Youth   LaughingCrow / Atlas Obscura User
After crossing the stream   LaughingCrow / Atlas Obscura User
  lstraubbruce / Atlas Obscura User
  grayskyman / Atlas Obscura User
  grayskyman / Atlas Obscura User
  grayskyman / Atlas Obscura User
  grayskyman / Atlas Obscura User
  grayskyman / Atlas Obscura User
August 2021   moirahahn / Atlas Obscura User
This is the back of the spring   theevenger / Atlas Obscura User
The stream by the spring house   LaughingCrow / Atlas Obscura User
The view from the road   LaughingCrow / Atlas Obscura User
Entrance Fountain of Youth.   Julio Torres / Atlas Obscura User
We dropped off a “Northeast Ohio Rocks” stone here   emwatt72 / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Originally meant to be a spring house grotto reminiscent of a Roman cavern, this 1930s spring house is fronted by an arch of stone and concrete, with an engraved stone disc declaring the “Fountain of Youth.” Inside, it is surprisingly dark with a refreshing wet earth and decaying wood aroma. The space feels much like a womb, and the smell and sound of running water fills the air.

According to the Latodami Nature Center (which keeps a timeline of the park), the Fountain of Youth was built in 1938, and the spring was enjoyed as a local water source until May 1955. Conflicting stories abound about the source of the water. Some say that this spring house was built over a natural spring, others that it was mistaken for a natural spring but was really a leak in the golf course’s water system that, once fixed, led to the end of the water. Water continues to flow at the spring today.

At the far back wall there is a dark square where the pump was broken off when the spring was declared unsafe. It opens to a surprisingly long and large space that sometimes fills with water. You exit the space facing west, a direction that signifies water, the challenges of middle age, and the sacred feminine in local folk belief. An excellent time to visit the spring is just as the moon comes up over the horizon, moving in the same direction you move to exit the fountain, making it seem to transform into a magical, harmonizing space.

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Spring Fountains

Know Before You Go

The spring is out in the woods. If you get to the golf course you've gone too far. There is a small space to pull over on the side of the road and a path down the hill, over the stream and up to the spring, or you can park down by the golf course and walk back if you're up for a longer walk.

Community Contributors

Added By

LaughingCrow

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MagnumPI, erjeffery, theevenger, emwatt72...

  • MagnumPI
  • erjeffery
  • theevenger
  • emwatt72
  • grayskyman
  • Julio Torres
  • lstraubbruce
  • moirahahn
  • parsenault100

Published

April 13, 2017

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Fountain of Youth
10100-10170 Kummer Rd
Wexford, Pennsylvania, 15090
United States
40.599934, -80.020945
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