Devil's Millhopper

Ever since the earth was formed its face has been constantly changing. Volcanoes have erupted, mountains have been uplifted and worn down by erosion, glaciers have advanced and retreated, continents have been shaped and reshaped by the rise and fall of the oceans, and each rain etches and carves the land surface as well as the bedrock into which it seeps. The story of Devil's Millhopper is one act in nature's continuing drama called “change.”

During the last century, the grist mill was a familiar place to most rural families. Grain was fed into the mill from a funnel-shaped container called a “hopper.” The early homesteaders of this region found this sink to resemble a large millhopper which could feed grain into the Devil's Mill at the center of the earth. Thus the name — “Devil's Millhopper.”

Under the provisions of Chapter 377.075(4)(e)
Florida Statutes, Devil's Millhopper
has been designated a
Florida State Geologic Site Devil's Millhopper, an impressive sinkhole, primarily exposes sediments of the Upper Eocene (37 million years old) Ocala Limestone and the Lower to Middle Miocene (24 to 10 million years old) Hawthorn Group. A few feet of the Ocala Limestone can be seen at the base of the sinkhole. The Hawthorn Group phosphatic sands, clays and dolostones are approximately 105 feet thick with a few feet of undifferentiated sands comprising the surface layer. Throughout much of the state, the Hawthorn Group sediments function as water-bearing aquifers or more often as low permeability aquitards. These sediments are also extensively mined for phosphate in northern and central Florida. The sinkhole formed when sediments overlying the Ocala Limestone collapsed into cavities dissolved in the limestone by ground water. Though covered with lush vegetation, Devil's Millhopper is one of the best natural exposures of the Hawthorn Group in Florida. This sinkhole occurs within the Alachua-Lake City Karst Hills geomorphic zone of the Okeefenokee Basin District. Designated October 9, 2000
Dr. Walter Schmidt,
Florida State Geologist
Florida Geological Survey

This railroad tie is a remnant of an old trail system built during the 1930’s by the Civilian Conservation Corps. Being elevated, the present stairway has the advantage of eliminating all foot traffic which causes undue erosion and compaction of soil.