The Search For Rowe Spring 

"This is so beautiful. Look at the spring. Look at the water dripping down. Look at the leaves falling. Look at the sunlight. Look at me!!. I found it!!" - Dime Store

Love the process dude. To go from a random paragraph in a 100+ year old book about a 200 year old "pact", to matching online modern and ancient source material, to physically tramping through the woods, to finally standing in a spot where centuries past a small collection of people had stood and made the same discovery. Wow.

I used to get this thrill while looking for old property lines as a land surveyor. I know that feeling well. BTW, don't sell yourself short on those research skills man. That takes creative thinking, and persistence. Fantastic job!

So cool. I love how much people cared about their small communities back then, enough to document every little detail like the existence of a tiny spring in the woods. You can now call yourself an honorary member of the Rowe Spring Society!

I grew up in Sunderland and this was super interesting to watch. My mom was on the conservation commission and she used to take me on surveys out in that area but I didn't know any of the history surrounding how the town got water. I do remember her always talking about how Sunderland has great water though. I'll show her this video and ask her if she has anything relevant to add.

I just found your channel a month or so ago January 2024. Just north of where you are in this video back in 1981 or 82. Just north of you at the top of Reservoir Road my wife and I along with some others bought some land at the top of Reservoir Road. Well doing our hippie thing back then and camping up in those woods. We had a fresh supply of water from a small well just oozing out of the ground at the top of reservoir Road before it drops over and down into Leverett. Now, 50 years later, I’m gonna have to go walking around up there again. it was a really good video. Thanks.

It's two feet across and I found it! Loved the video and especially the last minute and a half. History is important and obscure history can be the most personally profound. You go to Gettysburg and it can be amazing when you know what actually took place on that very ground, but you share that experience with the millions that have visited since. How many people in history stood in that spot and knew of the Rowe Spring Society? It makes me ponder how many millenia that spring may have been used and what chicanery it endured.

Dug Brook seems to be a likely transcription error made by a map-maker who was not familiar with the area and may have been copying from an earlier map and simply misread Dry as Dug. Then that erroneous map was used as a source for future maps, propagating the error until the USGS survey.

About 20 minutes into the video you say that what you're doing is not especially amazing or groundbreaking. I respect the outlook you have on what you do but at least allow me to say that I have a master's degree in history and the kind of investigative work in this video (and others) is exactly what historians do. They may be focused more on concepts, systems, power relations, ideas or whatever than you, but fundamentally you are both hunting for and interrogating primary and secondary sources in order to find meaning. Word salad aside: You're doing a great job and I am very impressed!

I only just found this channel and i am learning so much about the area my family's been for 403 years.... almost 404 years... from Maine to Connecticut we have been and yet this land has so many mysteries to learn

I have to admit, when there was just a few min left, I was preparing myself for the big let down but NO, YOU FOUND IT! This was cool and thanks for sharing your process. Honestly, I can't believe you found it. You should take a crack at some lost treasures. Thanks again, this was awesome.

looking at the spring , remembering all the water you passed on the way to it, and realizing that this tiny spring was the source of it all, is awesome. I'll bet that hikers and other people have been walking all around this area for years and years and never realizing what it was and how important it was to the history of their town.

I really like this type of research video, dead ends and all. When I was in high school my class used library resources to positively locate the oldest cemetery in town, previously lost, and in turn the grave of the guy who founded the town.

I love when people make cool passion projects like this. Great job finding the location!

This channel delights my soul. I've been a map and local history addict, if local means wherever I am at the moment, and it is great to see somebody with the same burn getting answers and sharing the details.

I’m into geocaching and a lot of your content feels similar. Reading stuff online, maybe a little puzzle solving in person, and then hunting for a hidden gem in the woods. Love it.

So not only you are super thorough in your investigation but also amazing at putting up an educational video on processes and fact checking of said investigation AND amazing job at editing, to tell a compelling story. It was so cool and gripping from start to finish! Congrats!!!! Thank goodness someone at r/documentaries shared your video! Amazing channel! Bro I'm not even from the US nor an English-speaking person , but you got me hooked.

Your process is definitely worth a listen, it helps other amateur researchers. They might not know about non digital resource options.

This video should be shown at schools as an example of following a passion!

The last few sentences brought tears to my eyes. Absolutely floored. Well done, sir.

Recent subscriber here. I've been working my way through your videos, in no particular order. I actually avoided this one because there are so many old springs in the woods where I live (Northeast PA) that I thought this would be boring. Wrong! Your research skills have always impressed me but this takes it to a new level. I hope you aren't still doubting yourself or selling yourself short. Also, I don't know if life has just got in the way but I notice a slowing down in video production. Please don't stop all together. Your videos are entertaining, educational and often fascinating. I'm not looking forward to running out of them. Peace.

This is what I call original and quality content. Subscribed.

I really enjoyed this video. Your channel is a treasure trove. Thanks.

You're a humble man. You're brilliant indeed. Critical thinking here is a joy to behold. My Dad loved maps and I wish he was still alive to see this video!!

Cool to see how excited you got from finding this. There is a certaint fascination with these long lost features that were connected to people back then that are just pools in the woods now. You wonder what used to be there or if there was piping or anything. Amazing how it is almost completely invisible now. I see stuff like this in old publications when trying to find old collection localities for museum specimens, where it's very hard to trace. You come across places that most people havent seen or cared about for hundreds of years.

This is the best channel on youtube

Loved the video, watched it while doing historical property research for my job. It was an absolute pleasure to watch you researching for a passion project while I mindlessly scrolled old directories.

I actually used to get paid to find these kinds of things for a year, not out in the actual field but on a map, a bridge over a creek described kn some way and I had to find it on the map. In my spare time I have sometimes tried to find stuff out in the woods and explore. In the very beginning of this video I set out to find the spring on a map. And I believe that I actually found tge OTHER source, by the reservoir. As soon as I learned that there could be two sources/springs I think i kind of found the approximate location to where you actually found it. It is no doubt a spring, I have seen similar watersources IRL. This was a fun video to watch.

I absolutely love this channel, just discovered it yesterday and have been binge watching ever since, fascinating stuff, excellent content and you tell a good story!

Thanks for bringing us through your process!

Congratulations! This was SO much fun, watching your processing of the information.

49:34 we are utterly blessed these thoughts dont take over and you keep going anyway; i will never get enough of your content

One of the most interesting videos I have ever seen.

this is so cool, that's somehow badass that you found it. please tell me you got yourself a little jar of rowe spring water as a keepsake. and by the way, you know that now YOU'RE the rowe spring society right?

BBROOOO YOU FOUND IT!!! Never doubt yourself!!!! WE ALL LOVE YOU AND YOUR VIDEOS!!

Dude I'm so proud of you. There's a legendary spring in my neighborhood that I've located a similar process a lot less complicated so good job love your stuff

Great video on your research process. I'm very familiar with the Sunderland area through my research on interesting places to ride my motorcycle. I go through much of the same research as you do. History is fascinating and the people who made it can be even more intriguing. I very much enjoyed this video.

this was absolutely fascinating. I have no idea how I got to this channel but I'm loving it.

THIS IS THE VIDEO I'D BEEN HOPING I'D FIND ON YOUR CHANNEL

Your excitement shows all that work did pay off.

49:35 relatable, dope vid, you're a great narrator

That was fun. Thanks for sharing the whole process.

This was rad Man congratulations I felt it When you found that Spring I had a similar experience happened recently it's a good feeling me and a friend followed a Spring To what I thought was a cave system And turned out to be a very very old mine But the long form video was dope Love your stuff keep it up

I look forward to your videos, and watch them as soon as I can. There may not be many of us right now, but those that are here definitely appreciate all the work that you do! As a fellow lover of weird out of the way things, I think some people don't realize how thrilling it can be to come across something so mundane once you learn the history behind it. It's like your own private outdoor museum for a small moment. Also the excitement of the pay off of a good (treasure) hunt is a fun way to get your inner Nicholas Cage on. I moved to MA pretty recently, and it's crazy to me how much history is just on the side of every road in New England. You got me interested in champion tree hunting too, I actually took a trip to see the largest oak tree in Mass out in the berkshires a few weeks ago.

That's awesome you found it, another great video. I love your channel I grew up in Brookfield Ma.

This was an incredible adventure. Thanks for taking us along with you on your journey!

Just found you and love your enthusiasm about the forgotten history around us. This is not a waste of time and you are a great storyteller. Keep going!

i live a couple miles away--- have seen the source of green swamp--and the confluence of the 2 dry brooks-- the Elisha Rowe house is labeled 1790 next to the town post office on Garage rd.. the town roads and names have changed over the centuries. the source of Green swamp is cool--and it flows down a waterfall to an old small dammed pond of sorts, but that is easily another half mile from Rowe's house further away from town than the Dry Brook source -- which also has a larger old discontinued reservoir basin (with an old concrete dam}, seriously about '16 rods' (160 feet) east upstream from the confluence-- along the south east branch of Dry brook. (hence 'Reservoir rd'. and it is now the scene of a few modern wells that supply the modern town. i think that there may be some confusion between these two sites and the meaning of "spring'-- --- and what exactly was Kellog hill. the flow at this point of Dry Brook is far larger than the flow out of the Green swamp spring. and in 1790 i dont think any stream coming out of the hills would be polluted and undrinkable--- in fact that DryBrook area is still the town's main watershed. The Green swamp and upper Mohawk brook is still a beautiful area , but im not so sure it was a town water supply . --- to put it simply-- its a lot further from Rowe's house and is a smaller flow. UPDATE:---i have explored the area again--checked out resources at the library and talked to the old guy at theSunderland Water Dept--- i believe you are "mistaken"-- the source you found at green swamp is just not the place. Rowe spring is clearly where the current town wells are --the old reservoir there is shown on an 1830 map. this is what the first Water company bought ---the old spring may not be visible now due to modification--and the surface brooks may also have been part of the 'spring' source --- in fact there is currently a true 'spring flow out of the ground " just a few hundred yards up the Dry Brook near the water tower./tank. Its small, but shows what the geology does offer in the immediate area. the big issue is just that there is NO other mention of Kellog hill anywhere-- the Kellog's homelot is much further north in town. than the Rowe lot(originally Billings). Dry brook is not that far from the Rowe house and the extra half mile from the town center settlement to greene swamp would just be unreasonable to lay wood pipe in 1798 . Im sure the Green swamp source is just a diffrent spring.

Loved seeing the whole process!!!

I shared your joy and excitement when you found it, and I connect so deeply with these videos that you put out. They are super engaging, really really relaxing because of the footage of the beautiful scenery, and your personality is so charming and authentic. Please keep treating us to more of your Dimestore Adventures.

This truly was an inspiring video! I've done a couple deep dives on obscure local history, but nothing close to this level! Now I'm dying to seek out some old local books and uncover forgotten history. Thank you for showing your process!

this video is like a rated g movie about losing your virginity!!! it was soo wholesome and nice!!! i deff remember the first time i found roses spring. and i pretty much had the same exact reaction as you did afterwards too. it was even dry and clear on the north slope just like in the video!!!! wonderful!!!!

When you first crossed the brook at Green Swamp, it looked to be flowing in a man-made channel, as it was narrow and deep, unlike anything else we saw. I have seeen similar ones intended to lower the level of swamps. The path you were on just prior to heading off trail to the spring area was also unusually straight and level. Also, I would have expected to find some sort of enclosure around the water source to create depth and prevent freezing. Pipes would need to be buried, but aside from the suspicious (to me) channel near the swamp, there wasn't any sign of a method of transport. Maybe I missed it in the research portion of the video.

defiantly subscribing! im always looking for new and interesting channels to watch, great video mate,

Awesome His Hero is Gone shirt dude, never seen anyone else who knows that band

I live like 5 minutes down the road from Mohawk brook, had no idea there was a natural spring around there, really cool thanks for sharing

I live in a tiny hamlet (rural upstate NY) that dates to the late 1700s. Our wells are terrible. I would totally support a fresh water spring society, and want to join it!

So many comments! I thought I'd be alone in thinking how awesome this video is! Keep up the great work!

This is giving me so many more hiking spots!! You’re the coolest ever dude

You are an excellent explorer! Loved your video.

Bravo!! You found it!! 🎉 I’m so happy I found your content, it’s amazing! Never give up, this is pure gold!

I watched this right before I went to bed and had a nightmare about your search for the spring. Weird.

That is SO cool! You definitely have detective skills! You bring back memories for me of going through the wood like this in Ontario and coming across sites of where ancient activity happened and wondering HOW did this go on deep in here or finding something like this and wondering did others know about this. This spring should be marked with a sign as well.

I loved this so much, it's crazy to think how many places there are with obscure history forgotten to time, it was great seeing you revive it

Been watching your videos lately and subscribed. Real relaxing and enjoy your story telling. Sometimes things seem silly like a spring water society but you have to always take the times in perspective. Reasons to gather with your neighbors and build relationships where super important at the time. Clean water could mean the difference between your family prosperity for generations or have of them dieing one day do to bacteria. People didn't have a lot of entertainment. I bet the meetings were considered exciting social events. The world was a much bigger place. That 3 hour drive for you to get there could have taken several days. Not being negative at all. I love your videos. But with certain perspectives the secret water society seems fun. Your process it awesome. I'll keep watching!

Excellent!

Enjoyed the process, thanks for the video. "just more hilly right?" xD

Holy crap I was happy for you. Literally chills. So crazy the effort you placed in this project!!! Enjoy your victory!!

Oh sweet! First video after I subscribed and it's almost an hour long!

The reason is just this. You do it cause its interesting and people like me stumble in on this channel and I hit the like and I am now your newest subscriber. Keep it up. Your doing great stuff. here.

im so happy for you, and so happy to have shared your journey

This is the good stuff. Love the curiosity about small things and the desire to share it with others. Keep it up and I'll keep watching for sure!

This was so interesting to watch man. Your explanations were so methodical and even paced. Thanks!

Such a great video! It's so cool seeing you go on this adventure about an obscure thing like this. Awesome job!

This is the coolest video I have watched in awhile. I'm about to find some forgotten history of my city

I know it’s an old video but just wanted to congratulate you on a job well done 😊

Your videos are fascinating. Its not east to find something unique and interesting on RU-vid but you have done it.

This was the most satisfying mystery adventure I've come across in a long time. I was trying to follow along on Google Maps, pausing to make my own guesses. Great stuff!

Awesome video! I've been enjoying the others but this was way cool. I'd love to see more that include the research element in the future- it made it so much more vicariously exciting to actually find the place!

Great video, man! Randomly came across this on reddit. So glad you were able to find the spring. Had a great time watching you follow the clues and see the thought process unfold haha Cheers from NYC

This was amazing, thank you for sharing .. don't ever doubt yourself and never give up!

Amazing! Thank you for sharing this story.

I know that feeling. Excellently done.

I'm glad you do what you do. This is beautiful.

Funk, yeah! Well done! 👏 👏 👏 👏 👏

This is just awesome! And so inspiring! Keep doing it!

The amount of zero F's I gave in the beginning of this, then 5/10 F's I gave but I want to see where this goes, then exploring the Woods my F's went way down. Then You found IT!!! You F'ing found it!!! OMG! you don't even have to ask to put the Bell on after this! I'm a history nut, and I think you're insane! Keep it up!

I was riveted from the start! Excellent search and amazing find! Subbed!

Cool process video. You’re inspiring me to go dig around my local historical society

Amazing video, what an experience to take part of!

Awesome job mate, really enjoyed the whole video so keep it up!

Priceless!

Congrats! This video was entertaining from beginning to end, keep it up man, great stuff!

Fantastic video!! Great job. Absolutely loved it

Obsessed with these videos

Awesome, best video yet! Loved it!

Great journey. Thanks for filming your story.

You did it! That was awesome. It is a great inspiration to use the internet to search. One just needs to know what they are searching for? Keep up the good work.

Great video! Watching the process unfold, love the careful detective work. I live a few miles away from Sunderland and have been in those woods many times. I may have to go and visit this spring.

Wow I loved this! Would love more videos showing your research process