The Town of Fort White, named for a former Second Seminole War fort built near by in 1837, was founded in 1870 and flourished briefly after the arrival of the railroad in 1888. Phosphate mining and the growing of citrus and cotton sparked a boom that before 1900 made Fort White the second largest city in Columbia County with a population of nearly 2000. The boom collapsed when severe freezes in the winter of 1896-97 destroyed the local citrus industry. Phosphate mining ceased by 1910 and the boil weevil ended cotton farming before World War I. A handful of historic buildings, such as the Old Fort White School (1915) remain from the town's era of prosperity.
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Blue Hole is the only first magnitude spring of the nine named springs that feed the Ichetucknee River. Old timers call it "The Jug" because of its unique shape. Water that flows out of Blue Hole passes through the neck of the jug. The body of the jug is 40 feet deep, & leads to a complex underwater cave. Where does the cave go?
A Secluded hideaway
The quiet visitor to Blue Hole may be rewarded with glimpse of otters, beavers, & wood ducks. The crystalline waters harbor bluegrill sunfish & Suwannee bass, which are constantly darting among the swaying blades of eelgrass. Harmless brown water snakes bask on overhanging limbs. Unfortunately, some animals such as loggerhead musk turtles & spring run crayfish appear to be less numerous than in the past. Why do these creatures seem to be disappearing?
Your actions can affect Blue Hole?
Blue hole is part of the Ichetucknee Basin, which covers 300 square miles. Water that flows out of Blue Hole comes from the Floridan aquifer Rainwater, as it seeps into the ground, recharges this underground reservoir, During its journey, rainwater may pick up harmful chemicals produced by human activities & transport them to the aquifer, Sources of pollution for Blue Hole include lawn fertilizers, septic tank leakages, & storm water runoff. Excessive levels of pollution can disrupt the ecological balance in this spring & create unhealthy living conditions for plants & animals.
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Hernando de Soto Trail
made an unwelcome visit to the local Timucuan Indian Village of Aguacaleyquen during his 1539 exploration of Florida (which eventually led him to the previously unknown Mississippi River). With all of the social graces of pirates, de Soto's soldiers kidnapped the chief & his daughter in an effort to keep the Indians from attacking. The tactic worked on this occasion, but, a few villages later, the conquistadors would instigate one of the bloodiest massacres in Florida's history.
The Fig Springs mission site is an archaeological site in Ichetucknee Springs State Park, in Columbia County , Florida. It has been identified as the site of a Spanish mission to the Timucua people of the region, dating to the first half of the 17th century. Found within the historical territory of the Timucua tribe known as the Northern Utina, it is thought to be the Mission San Martin de Timucua, also known as San Martin de Ayacuto, which was founded in the important Northern Utina village of Ayacuto in 1608.
The Fig Springs site is adjacent to a short tributary connecting Fig Springs to the Ichetucknee River, about one mile down stream from the head springs of the Ichetucknee. An apparent midden was discovered in the tributary in 1949, & a survey with limited excavations in 1986 found evidence of a mission on the adjacent land, including a church building, missionary residence (convent), cemetery, plaza, & native village. More extensive excavations were carried out in 1988-1989.
Analysis of sherds found at the site indicated that the mission was occupied during the first half of the 17th century. The archaeologists identified the site as likely to be that of San Martin de Timucua, which is known to have been founded in 1608, & which does not appear in Spanish records after the Timucua rebellion of 1656. An earlier identification of the site as Santa Cataline de Afuerica, which is known to have existed in the area between 1675 & 1685, is less likely based on the evidence of the sherds. The mission appears to have been established at one of the five major towns that existed at the beginning of the 17th century in the Province of Timucua proper (also Northern Utina Or Utina), which included north Florida north of the Santa Fe River from the St. Johns River in the east to the Aucilla River in the west.
The mission church was an open-air structure, with a plank wall on the east end. The structure apparently burned, & the remains were covered by a layer of clean sand. A cemetery on the north side of the church included several rows of burials. Unlike several other Spanish missions in Florida, no burials were found in the floor of the church.
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The Ichetucknee River flows six miles through shaded hammocks and floodplain forests before it joins the Santa Fe River. The upper 3.5-mile stretch of the river is protected in the state park and contains eight major springs.
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The largest of the seven springs at Ichetucknee
Springs State Park, Blue Hole Spring is a major
source of the beautiful Ichetucknee River.
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