Moody Spring, Dubuque State Forest, Hawley 

It has been written that Moody Spring has been a place of pilgrimage, and for picnics and outings, for over 150 years.  It is named for William Moody (died in 1860) on whose farm it was located.  The water here is said to possess strong medicinal properties, and people come from great distances to get some of it.  This water is reputed to be an effective cure for scrofula* and other skin ailments.

My mother occasionally mentions snowmobiling to Moody Sping back in the late sixties and early seventies for clambakes.  We started snowshoeing out to the spring back in ’96 or so.  The area remains very popular for snowmobiles, although I don’t know how many of them depend on the water from the spring to drink like we do. 

****  (Scrofula: a constitutional disorder of a tuberculous nature, characterized chiefly by swelling and degeneration of the lymphatic glands, especially in the neck, and by inflammation of the joints, according to Random House Dictionary).

The Old Goat filling up at Moody Spring from the mid-to-late 90's