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Location
Suwannee Springs, Florida
Coordinates
30° 23′ 40.08″ N, 82° 56′ 3.49″ W
Area
1,800 acres (730ha)
Cabin at Suwannee Springs, one of six remaining of the original 18 builtSuwannee Springs Bridge, built in the 1930s as part of U.S. Highway 129. It closed in 1974 when a new U.S. Highway 129 bridge was constructedOne of the original cabins owned by the Suwannee River Water Management District. It is in a deteriorated conditionBath house walls at the springs
At least six springs comprise Suwannee Springs, five spilling directly into the south side of the Suwannee River. The main spring flows inside a man-made wall 15 feet (4.6m) high and 3 feet (0.91m) thick of limestone rock built in the late 1890s.[2]
Suwannee Springs is a second magnitude spring with an average flow of 23.4 cubic feet (0.66m3) per second. The spring emerges from Oligocene age limestone and discharges hard, sulphur water. The water maintains a year-round temperature of 70°F (21°C) to 76°F (24°C).[3]
History
The first known settler in the Suwannee Springs area was a man named Francis J. Ross, formerly of Jacksonville. In 1831 he purchased the area of the springs & surrounding area and constructed a resort there. The resort was rather popular. However, thanks to the onset of the Second Seminole War and the Financial Panic of 1837. It convinced Ross to sell the property to another person in 1838. After the Second Seminole War, with the addition of boats and bridges to the resort. It allowed easier access to the resort, allowing it to become a very popular tourist attraction in Florida. At the time, people thought that sulfurous water had healing powers that could cure various illnesses. After the American Civil War, the resort owners expanded the resort to include a spacious hotel, a trolley line, exercise courts, and etc. Later in the 1880’s a massive five-turreted wooden hotel with 125 rooms and a great open central square was built, made by Levi Scoville and Jesse Culpepper and finished around 1884. Sadly, this grand hotel burn’t down a couple of months after it’s completion. So, a new hotel was built in 1885 with a less grander scale to allow to easier access outside in the case of a fire. Ironically, this hotel later caught fire itself around November 1901. Though this didn’t hurt the hotel’s annex (which became the main hotel after the fire) and the surrounding 18 cottages. However, thanks to scientific evidence, it was found out that sulfurous water didn’t have any healing effects on the human body. And so, the attraction slowly died out. Finally, dying out by the time the hotel burn’t down in 1925. Bringing the end to a unique florida tourist attraction.[4]
↑"An Archaeological Investigation of the Suwannee Springs Property." Prepared for Suwannee River Water Management District by Myles Bland, RPA and Sidney Johnston, MA
↑County, About the Author Eric Musgrove is a seventh-generation native of Suwannee; homestead, Florida Growing up on the family’s country; sweetheart, he quickly developed a love for history that has remained strong throughout his life Eric married his college; Sarah; In 1998; children, they live near Live Oak with their two; Alex; County, Abby Eric has authored five published books: Reflections of Suwannee; Memories, Suwannee (May 30, 2018). "Suwannee Springs History - Visit Suwannee". Retrieved January 7, 2026.{{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
Further reading
Suwannee Valley Times article about the history of the springs with historic photographs of the site, hotel and cabins
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
