Advertised as a fountain of youth, “impregnated with a deliciously healthy combination of soda and sulfur” – who wouldn’t be keen on visiting?
Touted as such in 1889, what is now known as the DeLeon Springs State Park has a healthy history of mystery and violence for such a seemingly serene place.
Just as much full of natural wonder today as it was then, the State Park has plenty to offer by way of things to do and appreciate. Outdoor recreation abounds in this historical place.
Whether you enjoy hiking through the lush landscape, or swimming the constant 72 degree spring waters on your way to the featured focus of the park, each experience promises to be as enjoyable as the next. Canoe, kayak, paddleboat, or walk to explore the 18,000 acres of lakes, creeks and marshes of nearby Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge.
Half the park’s fame comes from the 6,000 year-old dugout canoe that was discovered here and stands as arguably one of the oldest ever found in America. As Florida traded hands from the Spanish to the English, Seminole Indians were settling in on the grounds. After European goods traded for Indian furs and deerskins, Spain seized its ownership and turned the land into plantation grounds known as Spring Garden.
After Florida became U.S. territory in 1821, Colonel Orlando Rees employed an ingenious waterwheel using the flow of the spring to grind his sugarcane from the plantation. During the Second Seminole War (1835-42), the plantation suffered from a severe sacking but was later reclaimed in 1838 by General Zachary Taylor.
The Second Seminole War isn’t the only wartime experience the plantation has suffered through, either. During the Civil War, the mill was used to grind the grain for the Confederate and other stores. Later captured by Union soldiers, most of the facilities were destroyed.
The very mill that suffered so much is the same one that now draws on favoritism from many tourists and travelers. The Old Spanish Sugar Mill and Griddle House offers their own sort of specialty, most peculiar in a State Park. Grain, stone ground by French buhr millstones, provide the very basis of what turns out to be some of the most phenomenal pancakes made at your own table, complete with a griddle. The restaurant serves breakfast all day and offers salads and sandwiches for the crew who isn’t so fond of foods after the a.m.
Read more about the Old Spanish Sugar Mill and Griddle House here.
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