Bartram in Volusia County

Bartram in Volusia County. Volusia County Bartram Trail. , Sites Bartram Visited in Volusia County , These sites are locations visited by John and William Bartram along the St. Johns River and included in William's book, Travels. A site listed below with a blue heading is accessible by water only. The red road line on the map represents our local scenic byway, River of Lakes Heritage Corridor. Stetson sponsored a byway map brochure with Bartram locations reaching beyond this county. , A . Indian Horse Crossing and Shell Mound , John and William describe a "place where the Indians swim their horses over" the river. Nearby they describe a shell mound six feet high and 200 yards long, now difficult to find. On the east side of the river you can still find the "Bartram Oak." , B . Spalding’s Upper Store , William provisioned at Spalding's Upper Store, where he met "a white trader, who had for a companion, a very handsome Siminole young woman. Her father, who was a prince, by the name of the White Captain, was an old chief of the Siminoles, and with part of his family, to the number of ten or twelve, were encamped in an Orange grove near the stores, having lately come in from a hunt." , C . "High Shelly Bluff" and Calydorea coelestina , William Bartram wrote his first natural history essay about the plant we now know as Bartram's Ixea (Calydorea coelestina). He gathered specimens of this plant at this location. The Bartrams described the landing here as a "high shelly bluff." , D . Alligator Battle and Bear Encounter , Stagger Mud Lake was named "Battle Lagoon" by William Bartram. It was here that he most vividly describes alligators (Alligator mississippiensis), recounting a battle between them, a scuffle with them, and the character of their nests. Bartram also describes them feeding on "hundreds of thousands" of migrating fish, most likely American Shad (Alosa sapidissima). Adding to Bartram's tension, his campsite was visited during the night by a pair of black bears (Ursus americanus). , E . "Ancient Indian Fields" , This area is one of many where Bartram describes ancient Indian fields and shell mounds juxtaposed with orange groves. It is here that Bartram gives a detailed account of sunfish (Lepomis). , F . Indian Burials , William Bartram camped here "on the border of an ancient burying ground; sepulchres or tumuli of the Yamasees, who were here slain by the Creeks in the last decisive battle." , G . Endures a "Hurricane" , William Bartram gives a vivid account of a hurricane as he describes how "the spreading limbs of the ancient Live Oaks were flying over my head and carried about in the air as leaves and stubble." He otherwise describes Hontoon Island as "a delightful little bluff, consisting chiefly of shells," undoubtedly the remnants of a Timucua Indian shell mound. , H . Beresford Plantation , Bartram landed here and lodged at the plantation of Lord Beresford. He walked with his host, the plantation caretaker, three miles south to visit Blue Spring. , I . A "vast fountain of warm or rather hot mineral water" , Blue Spring is the "surprising fountain" described by John Bartram in 1766 and by William in 1774 as "very disagreeable to the smell," having a "disagreeable taste." Those visiting today may disagree themselves, as this first magnitude spring is among Florida's most impressive natural features. , J . "Bartram's Bluff" , John and William Bartram called this Bartram's Bluff, although the name was never popularly adopted. They here describe the preparation and consumption of cabbage palm (Sabal palmetto) hearts stewed with "bear oil.", "As I passed by Battle Lagoon, I began to tremble and keep a good look out, when suddenly a huge alligator rushed out of the reeds, and with a tremendous roar, came up, and darted as swift as an arrow under my boat, emerging upright on my lea quarter, with open jaws, and belching water and smoke that fell upon me like rain in a hurricane…" , , Excerpt from William Bartram's alligator account in Travels