Mile 488 - Green Cove Springs

As of February 5, 2008 at 8:05 AM
Steps: 1,143,414
Miles: 486.87
Miles to Georgia: 46.13


The rich history of Green Cove Springs is tied to the natural springs and the St. Johns River. The area was first settled in the mid-1800s and was called White Sulfur Springs. After that and around 1850, Green Cove became a prime attraction, famous for the warm, therapeutic springs.


The spring is in the round well. The water flows from there directly into the swimming pool. I've had the delightful pleasure of swimming here with my brother, Mom and Dad on a fiercely hot day.

The sulfur springs brought wealthy visitors down the St. Johns River by steamboat to vacation at the grand hotels like the Clarendon and Qui-Si-Sana. Visitors of the period included Henry Flagler and his new bride, the Astors and Vanderbilts.

The spring is one of approximately a dozen sulfur water springs in Florida and is still popular today as a tourist site and a public swimming facility. The water boils up from a large fissure, some twenty feet below the surface at the rate of approximately 3,000 gallons per minute. The water is crystal clear.


Here we see a Banana tree thriving on the clear spring water.

The visitors drank from the spring believing in its medicinal values. It is said one local physician prescribed the spring water for various chronic ailments of the liver and kidneys. There are those today that still have confidence in the therapeutic value of the springs and can be seen daily drawing water from the spring for consumption.


The 78-degree spring feeds the municipal pool and then flows down Spring Run into the St. Johns River. The spring and pool are both located in beautiful Spring Park.


The spring water flows into the St. John's River near the site of the public dock. My Dad and I rode a dingy just past the end of this dock in an exploration trip of a creek formed by Magnolia Springs, just north of Green Cove Springs.

History and Facts Source


I had the good fortune to spend some time in the vicinity of Green Cove Springs. The first trip was to board a houseboat and motor it from here to Oxford, Maryland on the Chesapeake Bay. The second time, my parents and I spent a week motoring around in the Semper Fi, which we called the Big Red boat. Here I am in the Semper Fi's dingy, getting ready to explore one of the many creeks off the St. John's River.


My Mom and Dad wave to me from the Semper Fi. I will always remember both of these waterborne trips, they were both experiences of a lifetime.