When seeking Eternal waters, it's good to have a man on the ground...

Perhaps the greatest lesson I've learned since the publication of my book is the value of making connections. Selling books or garnering publicity is not nearly as important as connecting with people who are passionate for the historical and natural assets of Florida. These moments of connection fill me with energy and validate my mission to create awareness of our state's historical, cultural, and environmental treasures.

The connections I've made on my book talks have helped me to learn a simple and obvious lesson: there some things that just cannot be gleaned from the internet or from books. Nothing can substitute for local knowledge from a resident who knows the area. I must admit that it's much easier to do research using Google, but a real human source is still an invaluable piece of the researching process.

Archival image of the Magnolia Hotel from the State Archives of Florida

The view of the St. Johns River from the State Archives of Florida

Magnolia Springs Hotel from the State Archives of Florida

Two weeks ago, the members of Clay County Historical Society took me to Magnolia Springs, site of a massive Gilded Age hotel that drew large numbers of wealthy northerners who arrived by steamboat. Located on the St. John River just north of Green Cove Springs, the exact location of the spring had eluded my grasp. I also questioned if it was an actual spring or Artesian well. I had searched diligently from my computer in Orlando, but it took a visit to Green Cove Springs and information from locals to solve the mystery. Located just up the road from Spring Park, the tiny spring run from Magnolia Springs still trickles into the St. Johns River.

Here's what the spring run looks like today.

Where the run meets the St. Johns River.

My wife and I with the gracious members of the Clay County Historical Society.

I also sought Enterprise Springs, a small 4th magnituder inside Volusia County's Green Springs Park in Enterprise, Florida. My first attempt to find the spring led me to a small mud puddle that clearly wasn't what I was looking for. But thanks to springs enthusiast Joe Cruz, who lives nearby, I was able to find the small sulphurous spring. The opaque water, like nearby Green Springs, is a wonderful blue-green hue, and the leaves in the spring run are coated with Sulphur eating bacteria. Joe also showed me and a couple fellow spring lovers several nearby seeps, where mineral waters squeeze through small openings along the banks of shallow creeks. A fragile place of fantastic details, the narrow branch form the seep had a mystical quality.

Travis leans into a shot.

My Florida history buddy Phil contemplates the eternal at Enterprise Springs

Looking much like Deer Moss, the white stuff present in the spring run
is actually Sulphur eating bacteria. 

Water flows from the hole to the right of the palm trunk from what I've dubbed "Joe's Seep".

There is beauty and magic in all of these places, and a visit to these sublime watery portals nourishes my soul. Although there was some signs of human activity like scattered trash nearby, they are mostly forgotten. Magnolia Springs, a premier destination around the turn of the century is so covered with underbrush that I never saw the head spring. The land around Enterprise Springs shows evidence of former shell middens, and may have been revered by native peoples for thousands of years before the arrival of the Europeans. An opportunity to to be in the presence of these places is like paying homage to nature's greatest wonders and rediscovering mysteries of history that have almost been forgotten. I am grateful to have learned that sometimes a guide is required to unlock these mini mysteries.

Spring hunters, l-r: Travis, Angel, Rick, and Joe
(Photo courtesy Travis Marques, taken by Phil Eschbach)

The little church on the river

I was trying to imagine Green Cove Springs in the 19th century: steamboats dropping off passengers, deluxe Victorian resort hotels, and visitors taking the waters in search of restorative health. As I ambled down St. Johns Avenue, taking photos of some of the houses lining the street, my friend Robin from Authentic Florida yelled out "we'll meet you at the church." I continued down the road until I saw a white wooden building that I assumed was the church. (It turns out that structure was a WWII-era building from Camp Blanding in Starke.) As I walked alongside the structure and turned the corner – Bam! Right next to the river was one of the prettiest Carpenter Gothic style churches I've ever seen... anywhere!

St. Mary's Episcopal Church, perched a mere 40 feet from the St. Johns River was built in 1879. Phil Eschbach, our guide on this photo journey of north central and northern Florida, is working on a book documenting the thirty-some Carpenter Gothic churches in the state. This is one of his favorites and he pointed out details like triangular shaped battens and panels below the windows that open to allow for cross ventilation.

Photo from the State Archives of Florida from the late 1800s

The interior is stunning as well. The church recently received a grant to allow for the restoration of the stained glass. Rising above the altar, the focal point of the church are three stained glass windows representing the virtues of St. Mary: faith, hope, and charity. Above each is a bird representing the same virtue: a Phoenix rising from the ashes, a pelican pecking at its breast, and a dove.

The beautiful Carpenter Gothic church reflected in the window of the building from Camp Blanding 

John the Baptist, one of two windows in the back of church

My photo doesn't do the space justice. Rich in history and soaked with the energy of decades of worship, it is quite stunning.

Our guide Phil, sits in a pew with the panel open to show how the church can be cooled with the cross breeze coming off the river.

On my previous visit to Green Cove Springs, I passed within a block of the church and never knew it was there. One of the things I learned on this road trip was that it's easy to overlook Old Florida right in your own backyard. While it's great to have a knowledgeable guide like Phil, it's also important to stop and check out the local business you've driven by for years, or explore what's down that dirt road you pass by every day. You'll never know what treasure you might discover once you get off the beaten path.

Note: This is the first in a series of posts based on a two and a half day road trip with Florida history tour guide Phil Eschbach and Authentic Florida's Robin Draper. More posts to come...

ZAAT!

Courtesy of Marineland

Speaking of science fiction movies filmed in Florida, I stumbled upon Zaat the other day. What's Zaat you say? Zaat, based solely on the content of the movie trailer, is one of the hokiest looking sci-fi films ever made. Filmed at Marineland, Rainbow Springs and the town of Green Cove Springs, I'd love to get my hands on a copy of it someday to see if it is hideous as it appears. For more info see ZAAT.