Hope Springs Eternal: Magnesia Springs

The origins of my partnership in the Springs Eternal Project can be traced to a small spring in Gainesville. My working relationship with artist/professor Lesley Gamble and photographer John Moran began at Glen Springs, where we removed clumps of algae with rakes in an effort to help clean up the tiny spring behind the Elks Club. That chance meeting was the beginning of a collaboration that led to me designing John's Springs Eternal exhibit and several of Lesley's Urban Aquifer buses. The Springs Eternal Project works to inspire Floridians to "value, conserve, and restore our precious waters." Besides being the graphic designer for the project, I include information about the project whenever I have a speaking program for my book.

The three of us rarely get a chance to visit a spring together, but it was only fitting that we re-unite to check out a small spring in the Gainesville area. In this case it was Magnesia Springs, located in tiny Grove Park near Hawthorne. Currently for sale, this spring has an interesting history, originally opening to the public in 1928. According to a website called Mixsonian.com, the spring and 640 acres surrounding the spring was originally purchased by Civil War veteran J.L. Brown in 1882 as a potential place of healing for Brown's extensive war injuries. Brown's son-in-law, G. Hartwell Kelley, developed the property, digging pools in 1929 and expanding them in 1932. The water from the 4th magnitude spring was also bottled and 5 gallon jugs sold for 50 cents each. The Kelley family owned and operated the spring as a recreational facility open to the public for decades; here's footage of the spring from 1941. Gainesville Mayor Gary Junior purchased the property in 1990 and developed it into a summer home, according to the Mixsonian site, and in 1999 it was sold to Tom Dorn. According to this 2007 article in the Gainesville Sun, Dorn hoped the pool could be one day re-opened to the public again. The property is on the market, and the future of this site is uncertain.

G. Hartwell Kelley at one of the two artesian wells flanking the head spring.
From the Friends of Magnesia Springs Facebook page.

Undated entrance photo from the Friends of Magnesia Springs Facebook page.

Magnesia Springs on May 8, 1931 from the State Archives of Florida.

Gainesville Sun image published in 1975 from the
Friends of Magnesia Springs Facebook page.

Entrance marker to the property.

John Moran arranged for our visit, and as we stopped to chat with the couple living on the property we warned about the abundance of water moccasins on the site. After seeing a bag of "Hi-Yield Snake Repellent" in one of the buildings near the spring, I realized she must not be exaggerating!

The spring boils up in a pool that is filled with hydrilla, an invasive aquatic plant. On either side of the pool are two artesian wells where the water bubbles up with enough force to create boils on the surface. From the spring head the water is piped into two other other pools nearby. Those are covered with Duckweed, but the water underneath appears clear. There are several spots in those pools where the surface is free of Duckweed, but I couldn't determine whether or not whether these were the result of more spring vents or merely the locations where pipes entered from the main spring.

The main pool where the spring is said to be located.

Lesley Gamble, left, capturing stunning underwater video

One of the clear spots where water movement pushes the Duckweed away.

The diving board and water slide have seen better days...

Surrounding the pool are several buildings, survivors of the era when the spring saw lots of use as a  recreational facility. My father told me that we visited the property when I was a kid, but I have no recollection of it. There is a rebuilt water bottling facility, a concession area, changing rooms, storage areas, and more. There was evidence the family who owned it still utilized the spring occasionally, but otherwise it was frozen in time with old signs and ephemeral details hanging on from the spring's past. I surveyed the property, being extremely cautious of every step, ever mindful of potential snakes.

The old pump used in the water bottling process.

Bird's nest in a coke machine.

I was inspired by John to experiment with using the fish eye lens attachment on my i phone...

My Springs Eternal Project partners went to work as well, John found interesting compositions to best document the site. Having shot with him on several occasions I am constantly amazed at his technical proficiency and his remarkable vision as a photographer. His experience as an editorial photographer for the Gainesville Sun combined with his unbridled zeal for Florida's springs give him the ability to make magical images everywhere he goes.

The boil on top of one of  the two artesian wells.

John Moran magic...

Lesley, affectionately dubbed the "Turtle Whisperer" for her ability to get miraculous video images of turtles, was fresh off the hugely successful internet debut of her short film "Swimming Through Air." Words cannot express the awe and wonder I felt when first seeing her images projected on a huge screen behind the Gainesville Symphony Orchestra as they performed Frederick Delius' Florida Suite. On this day she was stalking tiny minnows, capturing sublime underwater imagery.

The three of us approached the spring from different angles: John looking for beautiful photos for possible use in his upcoming book, Lesley adding to her library of stunning video images, and I was fascinated with the history and culture surrounding the spring, seeing it as an unexplored commercial archeological resource. Collectively it is our hope that we can move the bar on public awareness and make a difference in protecting and preserving these "bowls of liquid light" as Marjorie Stoneman Douglas once called our springs.

After posting i-phone images on Facebook of the spring, several comments reflected hope that the spring could one day be restored and re-opened to the public. John noted that he is only aware of one pool where the public can still swim in spring water and that is Green Cove Springs. We all agreed that the potential for restoring this spring remained intact but it would be a challenging task. Yet hope springs eternal.

Detail of the surface of the spring head.

Please note: Magnolia Springs is located on private property and we had permission from the owners to visit. On behalf of the owners I want to emphasize that visiting the spring without permission is trespassing (and there are water moccasins everywhere!) 

My Miracle on 34th Street

About four years ago I had an idea for an exhibit documenting "Ponceabilia" throughout the state and showing the ways in which the myth of the Fountain of Youth had impacted Florida's development. I did a mock-up for a local museum, but by the time I pitched it to them, they had no space for it. So I switched directions and put my energy into a book about the same subject. Last summer after running into Gainesville photographer John Moran at Glen Springs, he offered to pitch my exhibit project to the Florida Museum of Natural History. Sidenote: the complex of the FMNH, the Harn Museum, and the Phillips Performing Arts Center has been dubbed the "Miracle on 34th Street." Fast forward six months, and the exhibit is now open in the Museum's Central Gallery, along with John's Springs Eternal exhibit.

The original mock-up for the exhibit created in 2009

I could not have scripted the series of events and coincidences that led to the exhibit opening last week, but it felt really good to see it made manifest. I have ten 40" X 60" panels plus one really cool "put your head in the hole" tacky tourist photo-op. The professionalism and support I received from the museum was incredible and I'm proud to contribute to the museum where I took summer classes as a kid.

If you are in Gainesville, please check it out. Hopefully it is amusing to look at, educational, and thought provoking. And the demise of Florida's springs that John has documented is a very important issue for a state that has promoted itself as a fantastic land of natural wonders. Together our two exhibits examine the 500 years of myth of the Fountain of Youth from roadside kitsch to a potential environmental catastrophe.

John's wonderful nature panel in the foreground looking towards my exhibit

L-R: Lesley Gamble, Springs Eternal Partner and creator of the Urban Aquifer bus project
and Springs Eternal website; Rick Kilby, Finding the Fountain of Youth creator (me);
John Moran, creator of the Springs Eternal exhibit and brilliant nature photographer;
Dr. Bob Knight, noted springs authority

John's spectacular manatee clerestory window

Overview of the Springs Eternal exhibit

A dried-up White Springs shows what can happen to our springs

My exhibit, Finding the Fountain of Youth; Discovering the Myth
of Florida's Magical Waters, is on display at the Florida Museum
of Natural History in Gainesville through December 15, 2013.

There will be an Earth Day event at the museum on Saturday, April 20th featuring another panel discussion by the Project's members and an appearance by one of the Urban Aquifer buses.

Gainesville Gargoyles

I worked in the Chemistry Department for over four years when I attended the University of Florida, in the middle of what is now known as the University of Florida Historic District. I'm not sure if it was a historic district then, and sadly if it was I never noticed. I visited the district recently driven by quest for all things Ponce de Leon related, after seeing a photo of a frieze with Florida's European discoverer at the Matheson Museum.

Spanish Discovery of Florida Freize - Sledd Hall

While I really looked closely at the Gothic architecture for the first time, I was really blown away by the carved details on the buildings. How I walked by these every day and was oblivious, is a mystery to me, but I think the truth is as I've gotten older, I've grown more interested in architecture and the environment around me. I like to think I notice more. So for me it was a fresh discovery and I had a wonderful time documenting just a portion of the carvings in this one section of campus.

Bay Window of the Reading Room- Fletcher Hall

Carving from Bay Window of the Reading Room- Fletcher Hall

Detail of Gator from the Reading Room Bay Window - Fletcher Hall

I'm not sure what this supposed to be - a crab maybe?

Reading Student - Sledd Hall

Chemistry Student- Sledd Hall

Fraternity Member giving the thumbs down- Sledd Hall

Football Player- Sledd Hall

Sledd Hall seemed to have the largest amount of intricate carving and by far the most ornate was the Mucozo Tower. The UF website describes it this way:

"Sledd Hall, designed by University Architect Rudolph Weaver, was built in 1929 and links to Fletcher and Thomas Halls. Sculptural figures along the cornice depict the all male student population of the period engaged in a variety of activities. Plaques with seals of great universities of the world suggested the University's goals for academic achievement. Courtyard entrances to the individual suites are enhanced with figures representing creatures from the sea and the local region. A sculptural frieze depicts the Spanish discovery of Florida and reflects the Spanish heritage of the state. Another sculptural relief depicts students with architectural tools and sporting equipment. An outstanding feature of the building was the Mucozo Tower South entrance to the dormitory courtyard. The sculptural features recognize the friendship of Chief Mucozo and Spanish explorer Juan Ortiz. The tower also included a trunk depository, where students' luggage was loaded on a dumb waiter to the storage level below. Sledd Hall was named for the first UF president, Dr. Andrew Sledd."

A couple more:

Buckman Hall "Anguished Scholar"

Corbel at the University Auditorium