Coker Spring

Front: The freshwater spring less than 1/4 mi. SW was used by prehistoric Indians. It was deeded to the town of Aiken in 1844 by William Perroneau Finley (1803-1876) and furnished Aiken’s drinking water throughout the 19th century. A regular stop on the stagecoach route from Abbeville to Charleston, it helped make Aiken a popular health resort. William Gilmore Simms described it in 1843 as “a fountain of delicious water, which is equally cold and unfailing.” Reverse: The brick springhouse, covered in stucco, dates from the early 19th century and features Greek Revival architectural elements. During the Civil War Confederate soldiers camped nearby, in what is now Hitchcock Woods, were frequent visitors. The springhouse and retaining walls, neglected by the turn of the 20th century, were restored in 1972 after archaeological excavations. Coker Spring was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.