McConnell Springs Park

McConnell Springs is a twenty-six acre natural park located at the historic springs where the city of Lexington, Kentucky was named.[2]

McConnell Springs
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
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Location	Lexington, Kentucky
Coordinates	38°3′19″N 84°31′40″W
Area	20 acres (8.1 ha)
NRHP reference No.	76000874[1]
Added to NRHP	January 17, 1976

McConnell Springs is historically and environmentally significant to this area. The naming of Lexington is the central historic event which marked McConnell Springs' place in history. William McConnell and his party of kinsmen, companion surveyors, explorers and would-be settlers established a small camp in this area in June 1775. The group named their camp "Lexington" in honor of one of the first battles of the American Revolutionary War in Lexington, Massachusetts. Four years later this name was adopted when founding their town. In the ensuing years, the McConnell property changed hands several times with remnants of past use still visible throughout the park - including stone fences, a barn foundation, a small rock quarry, remains of an old dam and the foundation of an old creamery.

The most significant environmental feature is a complex system of sinking springs. McConnell Springs is the only known site in Fayette County that has a series of artesian springs that come to the surface, go underground, reappear, flow on the surface and go back underground only to surface again a third of a mile away.

McConnell Springs has two major natural springs. The first is The Blue Hole,[3] which gets its name due to appearance of the water looking blue. The illusion of the colored water is due to the 15 foot depth of this spring. The second major spring is The Boils.[3] Although some may think that this spring is hot due to its given name, it is not. It gets its name due to the heavy rain water that rushes up from underground which in return makes the spring appear as it is boiling. The last feature is named The Final Sink.[3] All the water from the park flows into this sink hole which then resurfaces at Preston's Cave Spring.

McConnell Springs also has two miles of trails, with a half-mile paved loop which makes the park accessible to most visitors, as well as an education center.

McConnell Springs park is protected sanctuary by the city of Lexington.[4] It has rules such as no pets and no camping. The water surface quality is also regularly monitored to ensure that the springs are natural and not being contaminated by pollutants.