[4][5] The town stands on a low hill that divides the watershed of Trail Creek from the Galena River, which rises a short distance to the east in the Springfield Fen, which provides habitat for a variety of rare plants and animals.

[3] In the mid-19th century, it was the site of businesses including a mill, sawmill, schoolhouse, tannery, shoemaker and general store, as well as both Baptist and Methodist congregations.

[9] The town's ambitions of becoming a location of importance ended, however, when the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway passed through LaPorte instead of Springville.

[2] In the 1850s, a company was organized in Springville to build a plank road from Michigan City to South Bend, but this too was unsuccessful.

[10] The Pere Marquette right-of-way was ultimately acquired by the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, and was abandoned in the late 20th century.