The Tea Water Wells of Early New York

Because of our country having a milestone birthday this year, I am even more interested than usual in US history, and this week while perusing the (digital) aisles of the Library of Congress, I learned something I'd never known before: That in 1750 in New York, "All except the very poor bought their supplies for drinking from vendors who filled their barrels at the three or four good wells called Tea Water Wells."

And what, pray tell, are Tea Water Wells? I would direct you to the website of the Boston Tea Party ship: "The tea drinking residents of 18th century Manhattan realized their tea was only as good as the water in which it was steeped. The water from dug wells in the lower part of Manhattan served well enough for ordinary domestic purposes, but was often brackish and disagreeable to taste. Sometime during the first half of the 1700s, a spring of fresh water between Baxter and Mulberry streets began to attract popular attention. The water was so popular for the making of tea that it was known as the Tea Water Pump."

And nyhistory.org has a one-minute video that further explains the pursuit of good tea water in New York. I'm just stunned that after reading, oh, more than 100 tea books over the years, I'd never heard of Tea Water Wells before. Have you?