Green Cove Springs in Clay County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)

Green Cove Springs

Photographed by Mike Stroud, March 10, 2013

1. Green Cove Springs Marker

Inscription. High ground along the river and a flowing mineral spring drew the first inhabitants to this area some 7000 years ago, but historic development dates from 1816 when George I. F. Clarke erected a sawmill in this vicinity under a Spanish land grant. The first settlement, called White Sulfur Springs, was established in 1854, with a wharf, a store, and several houses clustered around a public square. During the Civil War, Federal troops frequently skirmished with Confederate forces in the vicinity, and finally occupied the town in 1864. Renamed in 1866, Green Cove Springs became the seat of Clay County government in 1871. Tourism flourished, surpassing citrus culture and lumbering as the area's economic base. River steamers brought visitors to the "Saratoga of the South", noted for the healthful qualities of its famous spring and for hotels and boarding houses said to rival the finest to be found in northern resorts. By the 1890s, the population reached more than 1500. But an expanding railroad system carried tourists southward and a great freeze in 1895 destroyed the surrounding citrus groves. The city's tourist industry declined

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sharply.

The advent of the automobile age and the creation of a state highway system provided the basis for economic recovery in the 1920s, when the city shared in the general prosperity of the Florida Land Boom. But the collapse of the boom and the depression of the 1930s marked the end of the early development of the city. Between 1940 and 1945, the city experienced renewed development. The population increased from 1752 to 3026 as a result of the wartime construction of Benjamin Lee Field, a 1500 acre air auxiliary complex, by the U. S. Navy. With the end of World War II, thirteen piers were constructed by the Navy and the Green Cove base became home port to a "mothball fleet" of some 600 ships. With its share of returning war veterans, the community's population grew through the 1950s to a total of 4233 in 1960. In 1961, the Navy decommissioned its base and the reserve fleet was transferred to another facility. In 1984, the city annexed the former naval base into its corporate limits, tying this part of its heritage to its future growth and development.

Erected 1991 by The City of Green Cove Springs in Cooperation with the

Green Cove Springs Marker, reverse image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mike Stroud, March 10, 2013

2. Green Cove Springs Marker, reverse

Florida Department of State. (Marker Number F-332.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Settlements & Settlers • War, World II.

Location. 29° 59.638′ N, 81° 40.618′ W. Marker is in Green Cove Springs, Florida, in Clay County. It is on Walnut Street near St Johns Avenue, on the right when traveling east. Located at Spring Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 229 Walnut Street, Green Cove Springs FL 32043, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in First Coast

and in Greater Jacksonville.

It is also in the American South.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Dr. Applegate House

Photographed by Mike Stroud, March 10, 2013

3. Green Cove Springs Marker

(about 600 feet away, measured in a direct line); The Village Improvement Association Woman's Club (approx. ¼ mile away); Veterans War Memorial (approx. 0.3 miles away); Old Clay County Courthouse (approx. half a mile away); Remember Our Fallen (approx. half a mile away); Augusta Savage - Sculptor, Teacher, Civil Rights Activist (approx. ¾ mile away); Benjamin Lee II Field (approx. 1½ miles away); Dedicated To Those Who Served (approx. 1.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Green Cove Springs.

Also see . . . Green Cove Springs is a hydrological spring and a city. locally known as the “Original Fountain of Youth", attracted guests in the 19th Century; there were more than a dozen hotels near the spring. (Submitted on March 11, 2013, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.)

Green Cove Springs as seen today image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mike Stroud, March 10, 2013

4. Green Cove Springs as seen today

Green Cove Springs reaching the St. Johns River image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mike Stroud, March 10, 2013

5. Green Cove Springs reaching the St. Johns River

Green Cove Springs Marker, at Walnut Street near St. Johns Avenue image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mike Stroud, March 10, 2013

6. Green Cove Springs Marker, at Walnut Street near St. Johns Avenue

Photographed by James R. Murray, February 13, 2015

7. Green Cove Springs Marker

Since the original photo was taken, the shrubbery has grown a bit- it was a bit difficult to find the marker.

Credits. This page was last revised on January 9, 2025. It was originally submitted on March 11, 2013, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. This page has been viewed 2,199 times since then and 132 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on March 11, 2013, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. 7. submitted on February 13, 2015, by James R. Murray of Elkton, Florida.