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This springs history dates back to 14,000 years ago when nomadic Paleo-Indians stumbled upon this utopia.
They arrived after the great Ice Age herds, when Florida’s climate was much cooler & drier than it is now. The limestone basins that are now the headsprings of flowing spring runs, were originally non-flowing pools! 😯
As the climate warmed & conditions got wetter, the water table rose & the spring runs & rivers were born!
The Timucua Indians from the village of Aquacaleyquen lived off the Ichetucknee & drank from the spring as did Hernando De Soto after storming that village & kidnapping the chief & his daughter in 1539. At one site along the upper part of the river, archaeologists have found a veritable trove of artifacts and debris on the riverbank, leading them to believe it was an important canoe port! 🛶
In the 1600’s, Franciscan missionaries established mission San Martin near Mission Springs on the Ichetucknee River. This mission, which lasted until the Timucuan Rebellion in the 1650s, was serving the important Spanish settlement of St. Augustine.
In the mid 1700s, Creek Indians moved into Florida, beginning a wave of immigrants from various tribes that continued into the 19th century. Soon after the first clans arrived in the 1750s & 60s, they were being called Seminoles. It was these Seminole Indians who named the river Ichetucknee, which meant “place of the beavers” or “beaver pond”.💙🌊
I’ve never seen a beaver here but I have seen plenty of other wildlife! 🦦🐢🐟🐊
Florida State Parks
They arrived after the great Ice Age herds, when Florida’s climate was much cooler & drier than it is now. The limestone basins that are now the headsprings of flowing spring runs, were originally non-flowing pools! 😯
As the climate warmed & conditions got wetter, the water table rose & the spring runs & rivers were born!
The Timucua Indians from the village of Aquacaleyquen lived off the Ichetucknee & drank from the spring as did Hernando De Soto after storming that village & kidnapping the chief & his daughter in 1539. At one site along the upper part of the river, archaeologists have found a veritable trove of artifacts and debris on the riverbank, leading them to believe it was an important canoe port! 🛶
In the 1600’s, Franciscan missionaries established mission San Martin near Mission Springs on the Ichetucknee River. This mission, which lasted until the Timucuan Rebellion in the 1650s, was serving the important Spanish settlement of St. Augustine.
In the mid 1700s, Creek Indians moved into Florida, beginning a wave of immigrants from various tribes that continued into the 19th century. Soon after the first clans arrived in the 1750s & 60s, they were being called Seminoles. It was these Seminole Indians who named the river Ichetucknee, which meant “place of the beavers” or “beaver pond”.💙🌊
I’ve never seen a beaver here but I have seen plenty of other wildlife! 🦦🐢🐟🐊
Florida State Parks
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