St.
John’s River – Anchorage
Our anchorage and the park
were too pretty and inviting for us to move on today. We decided to spend
another day at the spring...swimming a little, watching people and
relaxing. Relaxing and taking it easy seems to be the theme of our trip this
year. We took our picnic blanket and a lawn chair for Stan and stake out a cool
spot under a tree near the spring. We enjoyed sandwiches from the camp store
for lunch, while we took in the beautiful day.
I snorkeled along the spring
run back to the spring and watched a couple of divers going into the boil of
the spring, which is actually a cave. The cave has a vertical shaft that angles
into a room at a depth of 80 to 90 feet. This is where the water boils
(springs) from the ground. It seemed a little small and confining for my
liking. I guess I'm a little too claustrophobic for that kind of diving.
In 1856 Louis Thursby, a former
gold rush prospector turned orange farmer, bought the land around the spring.
Thursby built a family home and a steamboat landing on the St. John’s River. Blue
Spring Landing became a hotbed of steamboat activity, shipping tourists and
goods to Jacksonville and beyond. The landing remained a busy place until the
advent of the railroad in the 1880s and tourism began to move to other parts of
Florida. The property remained in the Thursby family until 1972, when it was
purchased by the state of Florida and converted into a state park. The Thursby
house, built in 1872, still remains on the shores of Blue Spring. We visited
the Thursby home overlooking the river and the old riverboat landing site, even
sat in the rockers on the porch. What a wonderful spot they had...the beautiful
spring just outside their door and the world going by on the river.
Looking into our pretty anchorage.
