Massachusetts Fountain of Youth

Surely you have heard of Ponce de Leon. He was the Spanish explorer that searched for the legendary fountain of youth in Florida....only to come up fruitless. However, perhaps he should have traveled farther north because, according to local lore, the fountain might have been located in Massachusetts. Harvard, Massachusetts to be precise.

Now, I know what you're thinking; if there is anywhere in America that is squirreling away a fountain of youth, it would be Harvard. Well, it is not the Harvard of University fame, but the Harvard of Shaker town fame. For, in the town of Harvard, Massachusetts, there was a legendary fountain of youth that they attributed as the source of their longevity.


The legend of this fountain begins in 1855. That year, the Shakers were at a crossroads. One of their wells dried up and they were in need of a new source of water. Then, perhaps divinely guided, the Shakers located a new source of water on the western side of a landmark known as Oak Hill.

In need of water, the Shakers built an aqueduct to this new source of water, supplying a much needed quench to their source. But as the next few years past, something mysterious happened. The source of water seemed to have an unusual property. People who drank the water felt healthier and livelier. They average lifespan of people drinking from the well in the 1880s was 70 years old and several people were living into their 90s - a far cry from the typical numbers at the time. According to many sources, there was a 16 percent increase in the lifespan of those drinking from it. The chemical purity of the water was said to surpass that of the most well-known springs (including Poland Springs).

The Shakers believed the water was the source of this longevity. They even began to share the water with others, bottling it and selling it as Shaker Medicinal Spring Water!

Time passed and eventually the Shaker population in the region dwindled. The location of the spring became forgotten.

Yet, the spring can still be founds. However, with time, the advent of Route 2, and the fact that the water now passes through a marshy region, one has to wonder if the water the one filled the famous Shaker Water source may have actually found a new home. Yet, wary visitors can still look for the water source and seek the water. Just be careful. The sight is the home of rocky surfaces, hidden barbed wire, swampy lands, and deer ticks.

Is Massachusetts home of the fountain of youth? The Shaker's believed so. You never know....Massachusetts may indeed hold the secrets to longevity.

And, to check out other people who have visited, see these sites.

Strange New England
Fountain of Youth