The iconic spring castle at Rock Island State Park is finally open to the public. This structure, an ornate natural spring reservoir initially built in 1890s, was instrumental in providing water to Falls City and the Cotton Mill.
This historic structure was crushed by a very large tree in 2025 and recovering access and restoring the building has been a slow process. There were many complicating factors, the first being removing the 2-ton tree section that damaged the structure. Cutting the stump was not possible due to metal lodged within the tree, so its removal required a specialized crane that could manage the load on uneven terrain.
Once the tree was removed, the next hurdle was restoring the structure properly: in order to rebuild the damaged portions of the structure, the mortar had to be chemically analyzed to formulate a compatible match. The stones used to rebuild the building were all the original ones and we are proud to have this restored icon of the park available for the public to come explore once again.
The announcement was made on Rock Island State Park’s Facebook page.
