Dismuke went out to the area after our forum meeting on Saturday. He can probably fill you in on what he found in more detail than he has here. I did not go with him because it was pouring down rain.
I did visit the area but I only drove around and did not get out.
Here is something interesting I found at:
http://www.forttours...ps/stftwort.htmTired but happy soldiers, amazed by the beauty of the country, were pleased with the location of their new camp. In the coolness of a live oak grove northeast of the present courthouse square and near what is known as Pioneer Rest Cemetery, the dragoons found that nature had met man's every need. Three-quarters of a mile away cold water gushed from the south bank of the Trinity, which never lost its coolness under the thick shade of great oaks and giant pecan trees. They called it Cold Springs. Throughout all seasons the supply of cold water never failed even when the streams of the Clear and West Forks were reduced to stagnant pools during the hot, slow summers.
This spring was to provide the source of drinking water later when settlers moved in, and until they could dig wells. Later still, it served as a recreation resort for picnics and Fourth of July celebrations up through the turn of the twentieth century. By 1949, a hundred years from their discovery by the dragoons, only a faint bubbly trickle remained due to the south bank being denuded of trees. A road and a bridge leading to this location still bear the name Cold Springs.
So they were still flowing - kind of sort of - as recently as 1949.
The article suggests that Cold Springs Road leads to the site - which of course makes sense as most roads named after a landmark or place were usually thusly named because it was the road people took to get there.
Now, here is an aerial photo from the site that John linked to of the area:
Observe how Cold Springs Road as one goes north makes a sudden turn to the west to join with Northside Drive, goes over the Trinity River and then curves back east to and proceeds onward on the initial alignment. Also notice that the railroad tracks directly to the east of Cold Springs Road simply go straight through. From what I have read, the old Chisholm Trail roughly followed Cold Springs Road. I have also read that when the railroad was built somewhat later it basically paralleled the old Chisholm Trail. It makes no sense that Cold Springs Road would have originally made such a curve. Most likely the road went straight through and, at some point when the bridge was either washed out or removed or when the river altered they simply rerouted the road to Northside Drive in order to save the expense of a second bridge.
Now, take a look at this photo of approximately where Cold Springs Road would have crossed the Trinity if it had gone straight through.
If you connect the dots between the southern and northern segments of Cold Springs Road in the first picture, it would have crossed the river on the right hand side of this photo just to the left of the train tracks. On the far left hand side of the photo is Northside Drive with an orange line drawn down the middle of it. The three faint parallel lines that cross the Trinity in the middle of the picture are power lines and on each side of the river you can see the towers they are attached to. Now, observe the little inlet on the southern bank of the river in the center of the photograph. What I wonder is if this could be the remnants of Cold Springs. Here is the closest I could get the website to zoom in on the inlet:
Hard to tell much of anything by that. In fact, to me, it looks like the inlet actually slants away from the river. But that wouldn't make a lot of sense and I do realize that seeing things from the air can be rather deceptive. Perhaps it is the old springs still flowing a bit and needing a place to empty into the river. Or perhaps it is nothing more than where a storm sewer or something empties into the river. I am not very familiar with the area so I don't even know if it is in a place where the public has access to. But it would certainly be worth checking out. My guess is right now is probably a pretty bad time to do so as the river is probably flooded.