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Ponce de Leon Springs State Recreation Area is a Florida State Park in Holmes County, Florida. It is located in the town of Ponce de Leon, a half-mile south of U.S. 90 on C.R 181A. The address is 2860 Ponce de Leon Springs Road. The park, which was created to provide public outdoor recreation and other park-related uses, was initially acquired on September 4, 1970, using funds from the Land Acquisition Trust Fund. The park’s self-proclaimed purpose is to develop, operate and maintain the property for outdoor recreation, park, historic, and related purposes, offering abundant opportunity for nature appreciation and wildlife viewing. Its primary recreational activities include swimming in the spring and hiking along the park’s nature trails.

The park’s significance lies in the Ponce de Leon Spring itself, its most distinctive feature. This second-magnitude spring produces approximately 14 million gallons of crystal clear water daily, yielding a 350-foot long spring-run stream with a bottom covered in sand. A typical view of the park entails an image of the spring’s clear waters mixing with the tannic waters of “Sandy Creek.”

Springwater emanates from the aquifer deep underground keeping it at a cool 68 degrees year-round. Swimming and snorkeling are the main activities around the spring. The spring boils entail a convergence of two underground water flows, which, mentioned earlier, produce around 14 million gallons of water daily. The spring was named in honor of Juan Ponce de Leon, an explorer who, in 1513, led the first Spanish expedition to Florida. Legend has the whole objective of Ponce de Leon’s expedition was to search for a spring that, according to a Taino Indian legend, would restore youth to those who bathed in their waters.” The legend contributes to the Ponce de Leon Springs’ unofficial title, “The Fountain of Youth”.

= History =

Indigenous inhabitants
Although named after the Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon, long before the Europeans arrived in Florida, the springs were previously inhabited by a group of Native Americans known as the Chatot and Chisca Indians. These indigenous people give the springs a considerable amount of rich history, hunting and living in this area long before Spanish settlers drifted into the region in 1821.

It is believed that the Chisca were once the Yuchi. Hailing from Tennessee, the Yuchi left the Appalachian Highlands due to colonial wars in the 1650s. With little record of them afterward, it is believed that the tribe split into distinct groups, those that settled near the Choctawhatchee River became the Chisca, who are now extinct.

The Chatot lived west of the Apalachicola River and Chipola River basins. Once having territory that spanned from the Chattahoochee to Choctawhatchee, the Chatot were fierce defenders of their land, they are mentioned in a 1639 letter from the governor of Florida, where he is surprised a peace agreement between the Chatot another tribe as "[the Chatot] never maintained peace with anybody."

The Civil War
Following the migration of Spanish settlers to Florida, the springs quickly generated considerable attraction, its clear waters popular for fishing, drinking, and taking a swim on a hot day. In 1840, a log hotel was established, drawing several families into this area. These early settlers were harassed and traumatized by the brutal activities of deserter gangs during the Civil War, however, it wasn’t until September 1864 that the Union army paid the springs a visit.

On September 24, 1864, 700 Union soldiers briefly paused at the springs on their way to the Battle of Marianna. Led by General Alexander Asboth, the soldiers wreaked havoc: destroying the hotel and looting nearby homes. Records indicate that, following the raid, the Union force sustained its first loss near the park and in the Ponce de Leon area. Also in the vicinity park, it is reported that Private Joseph Williams of Company H, the 86th U.S. Colored Infantry, was mortally wounded in an accidental shooting and left bleeding “in the lines of the enemy at Big Sandy Creek”.

= Ecology = Ponce De Leon Springs, of both Holmes and Walton County Florida, comprises 386.94 acres of land. The second-magnitude spring produces about 14 million gallons of water daily, outputting a 350 ft. spring-run stream. At the spring's head, the water is approximately 20 ft. deep, it is here where one may find the spring's vent, an opening that concentrates groundwater discharge to the Earth's surface. Despite the Floridan aquifer fed spring's water remaining a constant 68°F, the water is found to be "surprisingly" warm during winter.

The Springs’ topography ranges from sloping to level, with streams collecting their drainage from the slopes, these stream systems of the Choctawhatchee River, River Valley Province, and the Coastal Lowlands Province. The park is also home to underlying limestone, Ocala limestone, specifically.

Flora
Ponce de Leon state park protects the habitat of four rare species of pitcher plants- parrot, purple, red, and trumpet-leaf, specifically along the wetland areas. The park also protects the habitat of other plant species including the flame azalea, the mountain laurel, and the longleaf pine, while simultaneously preserving 40+ acres of historic turpentine woodlands. Along the upland portions, one can expect to see plants such as rhododendron, red chokeberry, milkweed, hickory, huckleberry, blazing star, aster, oaks, pines, blueberry, and more.

Ponce De Leon Springs treated 111.775 acres of exotic plants species from 2001 to 2011, some invasive. The gravest occurrence of the invasive exotic flora including cogon grass, wisteria, Chinese tallow trees, and Chinese privet around 2006 in the Northern area of the park, but continuos treatments quelled the infestation. However, another infestation rose around, this time it was the Japanese climbing fern in the Southern region of the park, but swift action from park staff minimized the effects.

Fauna
The park is home to a variety of animals, as well, including the gopher tortoise, turkey, fox, white-tailed deer, beaver, bobcat, otter, and a variety of native and migratory birds. It also boasts a multitude of fish species favorable to guests who enjoy fishing, including catfish, largemouth bass, chain pickerel, and panfish.

Some species labeled “nuisance animals” are the armadillo, feral hog, and American alligators. When rooting by armadillos or feral hogs are spotted on park property, park staff may start trapping those animals, as this rooting may damage the restored flora-filled slopes. Alligators may prove to be a nuisance if they have frequent contact with park visitors. To reduce any human-alligator conflict an improvement of signage was to be implemented in the park to notify the public of the alligators’ presence, the dangers of feeding them, and other safety concerns.

Conservancy
The park contains a multitude of imperiled species, defined as species that are tracked by the Florida Natural Areas Inventory as critically imperiled, or that are listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, or the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services as endangered, threatened or of special concern. For example, most of the plant species contained at the park, such as pitcher plants, orchids and,butterworts, can be considered imperiled species, as although they were not recorded prior to the restoration of this natural park community, have in many ways recovered due to recent restoration efforts. Restoration efforts are crucial to the reintroduction and/or survival of these particular species, with appropriate fire and hydrological regimes pertinent to restoration efforts.

For example, the Red Pitcher plant was reintroduced to the park in 2010 after multiple active efforts to locate it where it was previously recorded to exist, and its re-introduced vitality was only made possible through continued restoration of the seepage slope natural community. The red pitcher plant is not the only restored imperiled plant or animal within Ponce de Leon Springs State Park. For example, many of the bog species within the park continue to increase in population as restoration efforts have helped expand suitable habitats within the park. Continued restoration of these communities is crucial to ensuring the continuity of these species.

Protection
Ponce de Leon Springs State Park falls under the protection of Florida's statutes on state parks and preserves. The parks' flora & fauna are protected from disruption by Statue 258.008, which deems the following a second-degree misdemeanor if done without the permission of the Division of Recreation and Parks:

"(a) Cutting, carving, injuring, mutilating, moving, displacing, or breaking off any water-bottom formation or coral.

(b) Capturing, trapping, or injuring a wild animal.

(c) Collecting plant or animal specimens.

(d) Leaving the designated public roads in a vehicle.

(e) Hunting."

= Access = Access to Ponce De Leon Springs is from north of Interstate 10 in Ponce de Leon, Florida, off of Holmes County Road 181A, which is accessed by way of U.S. 90. There are two self-guided nature tours--Spring Run and Sandy Creek--available to guests, as well as seasonal park ranger-guided walks. These tours are bike accessible, as well as walkable. The Springs are open from 8 a.m. to sunset, year-round.

= See Also =


 * Juan Ponce de Leon
 * The Fountain of Youth
 * Spring (hydrology)
 * Florida Aquifer

= References =