boiled to collect salt. Early settlers knew the site as French Lick Springs, a bottomland, or dell, which they used for trading and watering. Also known as Sulphur Spring Bottom, this later became a popular area for picnicking and recreation. By the late 1830s, access to the springs had been restricted by entrepreneurs who enclosed the area and charged admission for access. People flocked to the springs for the touted medicinal benefits of bathing in and drinking from the waters. Baseball was first played at the site by amateur teams as early as 1870. Sulphur Spring Park (1885–1889) On October 6, 1884, the Nashville Americans were established as city's first professional baseball team. On November 7, club directors signed a five-year contract to lease the baseball grounds at Sulphur Spring Bottom on which they would build a ballpark. The land had hitherto been little more than solely a baseball field and required significant improvements to make it suitable for a professional team. Construction on Sulphur Spring Park was scheduled to commence in late November 1884. A brick-and-cement dyke was built between Cherry and Summer Streets (Fourth and Fifth Avenue North) to hold back the spring water. The low land was filled in to bring it level with Cherry and Summer. The old bath houses were demolished and replaced with new ones that utilized a steam pump to draw up water. The grounds were graded, leveled, sowed with grass, and enclosed by a fence. In addition to the grandstand, a dancing hall and refreshment booths were also built. During construction, workers unearthed artifacts including bowls, shells, a flint chisel, and human skeletons believed to belong Native American Mound Builders. A wooden grandstand was erected in the northeastern corner of the block bounded by modern-day Jackson Street, Fourth Avenue North, Harrison Street, and Fifth Avenue North. The main Jackson Street entrance led past the ticket booth and into the grandstand's reserved seats behind home plate and a screen backstop. Rooms for players, directors, scorers, and reporters were built under the grandstand. Restrooms and water fountains, which pumped up sulphur water from the springs below, were also built. The distance to the outfield fence was to left and right fields and to center. The total estimated cost of the project was US$7,600. By late March 1885, construction was behind schedule, and additional men were brought in to expedite work in advance of the