"The Abundance of Springs"

In September 1793, describing the land on which the future university would be built, "Father of the University" William Richardson Davie took note of the site's ample sources of water:

"There is nothing more remarkable in this extraordinary place, than the abundance of springs of the purest and finest water, which burst from the side of the ridge, and which have been the subject of admiration both to hunters and travellers ever since the discovery and settlement of that part of the country."