Monadnock Moment No. 143

Era 7: Emergence of Modern American - 1890 to 1930

Temple Lithia Spring

Sidney Scammon opened the Pack Monadnock Lithia Spring in Temple, New Hampshire during the year 1891. Scammon built a park with a picnic area, playground and ballfield at the spring and invited the public to use the facilities. He set up a spring-house and began to sell bottles of the water.

The water was advertised as the most "wonderful Natural Lithia Spring Water known in the world." Because of the high concentration of lithium and other elements, the water was proclaimed to be the best remedy for kidney trouble and indigestion. It was also advertised as therapeutic for rheumatism, eczema, diabetes and Bright's Disease.

The park became a popular recreation area for local residents. The Spring became famous and wagonloads of bottled lithia water were shipped throughout the country. Scammon and his partner Uncle Rodney Killam, a life long resident of Temple, were looked upon as leading citizens of the town.

For twenty years the spring was one of Temple's greatest attractions. In 1911, however, someone discovered that Scammon was buying large supplies of lithium on a regular basis. It suddenly became clear that the "wonderful Natural Lithia Spring Water" was not natural after all. Scammon had actually been mixing it!

When the news of the deception became known, Scammon and Uncle Rodney Killam, now 83 years old, were forced to leave town in a hurry. They quickly moved to Malden and the Lithia Spring and Park was sold to a local lumber company.