 Over the years the land changed hands many times, but the spring gained prominence as a regular stop on the stagecoach route from Abbeville to Charleston.Eventually William Perroneau Finley (1803-1876) purchased the land in 1842 and deeded it to Aiken in 1844, with the stipulation that the city grant, "free use of said Spring to be had and enjoyed by the citizens and inhabitants of Aiken and the public generally for themselves, their servants, cattle and horses, forever.