Welcome to McConnell Springs Park, the site of the founding of Lexington, KY. Few large American cities can still point to the specific geographic site of their origin. But, thanks to a visionary partnership between Lexington civic leaders and businesses, and the willing support of hundreds of volunteers, the founding site of Lexington has been reclaimed and preserved for the future.

The Founding

In June 1775, a pioneer from Pennsylvania named William McConnell, his brother Francis McConnell, and their fellow frontiersmen were exploring the wilderness of the Virginia territory known as Kentucky. Like many other settlers of the time, they were interested in acquiring land and improving their family circumstances. As they surveyed and mapped the land around the forks of the Elkhorn Creek, they build crude improvements that allowed them to stake claims to the land under the current laws of Virginia. William McConnell’s claim included the land around a “sinking spring” where the party had set up camp. It was at this encampment that the explorers received word from nearby Fort Boonesborough that the first battle of the American Revolution had been fought April 19, 1775 in Lexington, Massachusetts. In honor of the battle, the group named their future settlement “Lexington”. The ensuing years were marked by raids and resistance from British & Native Americans, but the influx of European, African & American settlers continued and in 1779 a permanent blockhouse was built, in 1780 Lexington was named seat of Fayette County, Virginia, and in 1782 the town was chartered. Kentucky then became the 15th state to join the union in 1792.

More detailed history of McConnell Springs and Lexington.

After the land was settled, the site of McConnell Springs was used for many purposes over the decades: agriculture, a gunpowder mill, dairy, railroad, and various industrial uses. It eventually became a dilapidated, unused area, even being used as a trash dump and frequented by itinerant squatters. Finally, a potential industrial development was proposed and tons of fill began to be dumped on the tract in preparation for a new industrial land use. By the early 1990’s, city officials took action to prevent further dumping at the site, and to protect the springs and the sinkhole system.

Reclaimed and Preserved

Despite the challenges this property faced, the community came together in the early 1990’s with the idea of reclaiming the land for use as an historical city park and nature education center. A series of events led to publicity for the project, fundraising efforts, the assembly of the land tract, and formation of the Friends of McConnell Springs organization. Among the many influential citizens of Lexington involved in this effort, two of the most visible were the honorable Isabel Yates, vice mayor of Lexington, and Jim Rebmann, the city planner and cave enthusiast who first pushed for the protection of the site and its reclamation as a park. Many other individuals and resources contributed heavily to the effort including the business community, elected officials, and energized civic volunteers. Many tons of debris were removed from the site, the land was placed into the city park system to be preserved for the future, the Kentucky American Water Nature Center was constructed, and the park was opened to the public in 1994. The Friends of McConnell Springs exists as a non-profit organization working in an ongoing partnership with the Lexington-Fayette County division of parks and recreation to restore and preserve McConnell Springs as a recognized national historic site, an educational resource for nature and culture, and as a passive recreational park.

Additional Resources / Research