Ellen White: Woman of Vision

The New Well

Ellen White recommended that Palmer obtain the services of a good Adventist well digger of her acquaintance, Salem Hamilton, who was then living in Nebraska. Accordingly, he was called west to dig the well. WV 460.7

Palmer related: WV 460.8

With what anxiety we surveyed the ground and tried the wizard water stick and discussed the possibilities.... WV 461.1

Finally we chose a place and began digging down through the dry earth where the dust flew more than twenty feet [six meters] below the surface (Ibid.). WV 461.2

The site selected was in a hollow just below the institution. Deeper and deeper Mr. Hamilton and his helpers continued to dig. WV 461.3

Ellen White, who was eager to be close to the sanitarium activities, was able to pull herself away from Elmshaven and travel south, arriving at the Potts property on Monday, November 7. Hamilton had reached a depth of 80 feet (24 meters) on the well. From day to day she listened with interest to reports of progress, and frequently talked with Hamilton. One day she asked,” ‘What are you going to do, Brother Hamilton?’ WV 461.4

“‘I have a question to ask you,’ he answered. ‘If you will answer that, I will give you my answer. Did the Lord tell you to buy this property?’ WV 461.5

“‘Yes! Yes!’ Ellen White replied. ‘Three times I was shown that we should secure this particular property.’ WV 461.6

“‘All right,’ Mr. Hamilton said, ‘I have my answer. The Lord would not give us an elephant without providing water for it to drink’” (Johns and Utt, p. 146). He declared that he would go on digging. WV 461.7

By now he was well past the 80-foot (24-meter) level, and there still was no sign of moisture. But one day he thought he heard the sound of a stream of water in the gravel at the bottom of the well. When Palmer visited the site and looked down the well, Brother Hamilton called up, “‘Mr. Palmer, would you be afraid to come down? I think there is water not far away.’” Palmer did go down, and he heard it distinctly, “‘like the tinkle of a bell or the sound of a small waterfall in the depths of a forest’” (Ibid., 146, 147). WV 461.8

Hamilton had tunneled in one direction, but to no avail. He now tunneled in another direction, and with a vigorous blow his pick broke through the clay into a fine stream of water as large as a man's arm. The well quickly began to fill. There wasn't even time to get all the tools out. That night the water rose 15 feet (five meters) in the well (Ibid.). WV 461.9

Excitedly E. R. Palmer and W. C. White hastened to Ellen White's room to announce the good news. Writing of it the next day to her grandchildren, she said: WV 461.10

“Yesterday morning Brother Palmer came to my room in company with your father ... and told us there was fifteen feet [five meters] of water in the well. This morning there is twenty feet of water and their tools at the bottom of the well. I cannot express to you how glad we all are made. Plenty of water for all purposes! This cannot be estimated by gold or by silver. Water means life.... The Lord has answered all our expectations, and we shall have reason for thanksgiving.... I want to praise the Lord with heart and soul and will” (Ibid., 147). WV 461.11

She wrote in her diary: WV 462.1

The water is now a certainty. The trees shall have their refreshing portion. Brother Palmer was so pleased. He expressed his gratitude to God for this great blessing, that labor and money invested for machinery for the water plant had brought returns (Manuscript 147, 1904). WV 462.2

On the Thursday before the breakthrough in the well, a group from the sanitarium, including W. C. White, E. S. Ballenger, H. E. Osborne, and Mrs. Josephine Gotzian, set out to solicit financial support for the project. They drove 20 miles (32 kilometers) to San Pasqual, and then to Escondido, visiting families and churches and telling of the needs and providences of God in connection with the proposed sanitarium. They were able to raise $1,600 in cash to help carry the enterprise forward. Half that amount they were able to take home with them. They had also solicited material help that the farmers could provide from their land. They were glad for the cash because, in anticipation of a prosperous well, Palmer had purchased an engine, pipes, and pumps, and he needed money to pay the overdue bill. WV 462.3

When the party returned from Escondido on Tuesday, they were met by the cheering report that the well diggers had found an abundant flow of pure water. A few days later a four-horse team drawing a large, heavy wagon drove up to the sanitarium, bringing gifts from the churches of San Pasqual and Escondido. This timely donation included potatoes, squash, and canned fruit. Of special importance, the gift included two fine “Jersey cows” (Ibid., March 16, 1905). WV 462.4

As to the organization for handling the business of the newly established sanitarium, various propositions were made and discussed, and counsel was sought from the conference brethren. It was finally decided to establish a stock company, not for profit but for managing the business, and to encourage those who could do so to make an investment in the institution. The plan was followed with some adjustments during the next two or three years until the Southern California Conference was in a position to take over the management and responsibility of the Paradise Valley Sanitarium. WV 462.5

Thus Ellen White, through the insights that came to her through the visions, through her persistence, through her soliciting the cooperation of those who had confidence that the Lord was speaking through her, and through heavy personal financial investment, led out in the establishment of this first Adventist sanitarium in southern California. WV 462.6