Day 3 of our 2025 RVing Adventure with Historical & Musical Interludes

For our day 3 of our 2025 summer of travel we remained in the Salt Springs Recreation Area. Mother Nature gave us some much needed rain! Debbie and I did our walk around 10am, but the humidity came back with a vengeance after the rain stopped!

In the area around the picnic area and store is a 200 plus year old Southern Live Oak, whose branches dip and stretch skyward again! It is amazing the resilience that these mammoth trees have! Live oak branches droop due to a combination of factors, including natural growth patterns, heavy weight, and potential stress from environmental factors like drought or disease. 

The branches can spread outwards and downward, sometimes even touching the ground. This natural droop can be influenced by the tree's overall health and the specific conditions of its environment. 

Salt Springs is a second-magnitude spring that derives its name from its salt waters. The spring pool measures about 190 feet by 130 feet, with spring flow emerging from four vents in the limestone rock floor of the pool.

Gentle boils can be observed at the water’s surface over the vent areas. Limestone and sand are on the pool bottom near the vents, with the rest of the bottom covered with aquatic grasses. The north, west, and south sides of the pool are surrounded by a concrete walls. From the pool, water flows southeast about 4 miles down a broad run to discharge into the northwest corner of Lake George. The spring is part of the USDA Forest Service’s Salt Springs Recreation Area, where we are camped.

In the roped-off area between the swim area and the river toward the side were wire cages. I was thinking it was maybe for the crabs. It is not for the crabs but for bringing back the seagrass. The seagrass has receded because of all the foot traffic of people. Seagrass is an important food source for the manatees who migrate to this spring and others along the St. John River.

It has been said that Salt Springs is the legendary "Fountain of Youth." St Augustine might beg to differ with that statement! Scientists have discovered that aging can be slowed by certain minerals and trace elements that are available only in unrefined  groundwater, and the abundance and variety of helpful minerals in the water at Salt Springs can be found nowhere else in the US.

Want more history on the area? The King of Spain originally granted ownership of the property surrounding the Springs along with the five-mile run to Lake George to his supporters, the Hernandez family, who were not particularly attracted to the gift.  

Because of their lack of interest, the property remained undeveloped until the late 1800's when brothers, Walter and Columbus Townsend, who were prominent gentlemen in the turpentine business, saw an opportunity for shipping turpentine down Salt Springs Run and up the St. Johns River to the Naval Station in Jacksonville.

In 1900, Daniel Morgan, a prominent Marion County resident and County Commissioner who also owned a timber and turpentine business, constructed a large framed home on the south side of Lake Kerr. This grand lakeside home contained ten rooms, with the kitchen and dining room separated from the main house, all constructed of heart of pine and trimmed cypress.  When Mr. Morgan died accidentally, Columbus Townsend purchased the spacious house as a summer residence for his family, and proceeded to have it moved from the bank of Lake Kerr across the landscape to its present location, adjacent to the Springs.

Moving the house was quite a feat which took almost the whole year of 1918 to complete.  It was said that to move the house, they felled large pine trees laying them in front of the house as rollers and pulled the house with teams of oxen and cattle.

In 2009, there was some discussion about the old home being renovated into a bed & breakfast. The old home still stands on the south side of the Springs. They say from the second story windows, you can see the springs. I would not chance climbing those stairs to sneak a peek!

In 1908, President Roosevelt set aside the vast scrubland surrounding the Springs as the Ocala National Forest and only the  stouthearted braved the hazards of traveling the long deep sand roads to enjoy the waters of this remote jewel.

In the 1920's, after having bought his brother's interest in the property and having laid claim to the Hernandez grant, Columbus sold all of the property to the Ray family of Ocala.  With the coming of hard-top roads, many of Florida's natural treasures were popularized, but not Salt Springs; this remained a remote jewel but word had gotten out.  

Some came to be cured, believing that the waters had medicinal value, while others simply wanted to enjoy the bath of crystal clear waters. Regardless of the reason, all manner of homemade shelters sprang up among the oaks to accommodate the explorers who flocked to the Springs. In the early 1960's, Highway S-19 opened exposing the Springs to the world.  Portions of the scarce private land nearby was soon subdivided and sold as campsites to those individuals wanting their own slice of the Forest.

Over the years, most of those campsites have become permanent home sites, for both full-time residents and weekenders alike.

In 1979, the US Government bought the Springs from the Ray family, along with the approximately ten acres of the Hernandez grant, for over $12 million.  

Stay tuned as we explore the area a bit more tomorrow. Debbie and I might even put our toes in the 72 degree spring!