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The King of Spain originally granted ownership of the property surrounding the Springs, along with the five-mile run to Lake George, to his supporters, the Hernandez family, who were not particularly attracted to the gift. Subsequently, the property remained undeveloped until the late 1800's when brothers, Walter and Columbus Townsend who were prominent gentlemen in the turpentine business, saw an opportunity for shipping turpentine down Salt Springs Run and up to the Naval Store in Jacksonville.
In 1900, Daniel Morgan, a prominent Marion County resident and county commissioner who also owned a timber & turpentine business, constructed a large framed home on the south side of Lake Kerr. This grand lakeside home contained ten rooms, with the kitchen and dining room separate from the main house, and was constructed of heart pine and trimmed in cypress. When Mr. Morgan died accidentally, Columbus Townsend purchased the spacious house as a summer home for his family, and proceeded to have it moved from the bank of Lake Kerr across the landscape to its present location, adjacent to the Springs.
According to Henry Sprinkle, a life-long resident of Salt Springs and grandson of Columbus Townsend, moving the house was quite a feat which took almost a year to complete. It was said that, to move the house, they felled large pine trees laying them in front of the house as rollers and, like the Egyptians, pulled the house with teams of oxen & cattle.
Columbus Townsend bought his brother's interest in the property and then laid claim to the Hernandez grant and, in the 1920's, sold all of the property to the Ray family of Ocala. With the coming of hard-top roads, many of Florida's natural treasures were popularized... but not Salt Springs. President Roosevelt had set aside the vast scrubland surrounding the Springs, in 1908, as the Ocala National Forest and only the stouthearted braved the hazards of traveling the long deep sand roads to enjoy the waters of this remote jewel. Some came to be cured, believing through folklore that the waters had medicinal value, while others simply wanted to enjoy the bath of crystal clear waters. Regardless of the reason, all manner of homemade shelters sprang up among the oaks to accommodate the special breed of explorer who flocked to the Springs.
In the early 1960's highway S-19 opened, exposing the Springs to the world. Portions of the scarce private land nearby was soon subdivided and sold as campsites, to those individuals who wanted their own slice of the forest. Over the years, most of those campsites have become permanent home sites, for both full-time residents and weekenders alike.
In 1979, the US Government bought the Springs from the Ray family, along with approximately ten acres of the Hernandez grant, for over 12 million dollars. Development of the recreational property is still ongoing, with the most recent renovations completed in 2009.
It has been said that Salt Springs is the legendary "Fountain of Youth"... scientists have discovered that aging can be slowed by certain minerals and trace elements that are available only in unrefined ground-water. The abundance and variety of helpful minerals in the waters at Salt Springs cannot be found anywhere else in the United States.
Content credits: We extend a special "Thank You" to the Salt Springs Visitors Center for the provision of this historical information.
Photo credits: Camping photo courtesy of the Special Collections Department, University of South Florida. Turpentine Trees photo courtesy of Office of War Information, Overseas Picture Division.
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