The History of Blue Spring

The History of Blue Spring. . , The Indians of Blue Spring , Early man left behind signs of his activity at Blue Spring. The Thursby house and grounds are on a huge Indian shell mound, a midden, consisting of millions of shells. , It had been thought the mounds were natural flood deposits. Jefferies Wyman, an archeologist from Harvard, thought differently. His work here in the late 1880’s showed that the mounds were built by man three to four thousand years ago. , The largest mound, which the house stands on, extended along the south bank of the spring run down to and around the point. A second mound was opposite the large mound on the north bank of the run, suggesting to Wyman that the two may have been one but were later separated by the spring outflow. , The materials unearthed were clay effigies, shell tools, pottery, projectile points, and bone fragments, both animal and human. Wyman writes that the human bones were punctured in similar ways to the bones of deer, opossum, turtle and alligator that he found. He attributed such “perforations” to the practice of cannibalism by the native residents of this area. , A Surprising Fountain , John Bartram was the first to leave a written account of the natural scenery at Blue Spring. Recognized for his work as a botanist in colonial Pennsylvania, Bartram was appointed Naturalist for Florida by the British Crown. In 1765, he set out to find the source of the St. Johns River. While exploring the upper reaches of this majestic stream, John and his son William came upon a “surprising fountain.” , A New Frontier , The Second Seminole War ended in 1842. The Indians were sent west to Oklahoma or forced into the Everglades. The interior of Florida was now open to the white man. The early pioneers advanced up the St. Johns River, settling near old war forts and on the fertile lands around Spring Garden and Blue Spring. , Blue Spring in the 20th Century , The decline of river traffic, combined with the freeze damage of 1895, resulted in a change of land use at Blue Spring. The John Thursby family and later private owners capitalized on the natural assets of the property by developing facilities for outdoor recreation. , The Florida Park Service, which acquired Blue Spring in 1972, continues to provide recreation while working to preserve the park’s natural and cultural resources. , [captions] , . Indian cultural artifacts found at Blue Spring Shell Bluff near Thursby Mound, 1894 , . Shell Bluff at Thursby Mound, early 1900’s , . Artist’s version of Bartram’s description of the boil area , . The Beginning of Orange City , . DeBary unloading at Blue Spring , . Family at the boil , . Garden at Blue Spring , . Undine at the boil , . Swimming docks on the Spring run , . Blue Spring Park in the 1950’s , . Spring Head , . Thursby House , . Scrub Jay