Mineral Spring Park

Williamston’s mineral spring located in Mineral Spring Park is the focus of the Spring Water Festival. The park is considered to be one of the oldest public parks in the country.

In the fall of 1842, West Allen Williams, a prominent landowner, discovered a mineral spring on his property. As news of the spring’s medicinal value spread, a town grew, and Williamston became a major resort. The spring still bubbles on the land West Allen Williams deeded to the town. The people of Williamston are reminded of the town’s legacy through two events each year – the Spring Water Festival in August and the Christmas Park in December.

Mineral Spring Park one of the oldest in the country
Local artist and historian, Thomas Addison, a long time supporter of the Spring Water Festival and area history, has conducted research that shows Williamston’s Mineral Spring Park is one of the oldest public parks, and may be the oldest, in the country. Addison said that Central Park in New York was established in 1853. Research on the town’s park shows it may have been established in 1844 or 1854. Documents are still being looked at to determine the exact date, he said.
Addison said that when the town’s founder, West Allen Williams set aside property for a park and surrounding town, it was done during a time when the country was being pioneered and there wasn’t much thought of public parks. The town was incorporated Dec. 16, 1852.
Addison said there is the possibility that it is the first in the country or real close and that “the man had that vision.”