Silver Springs, Florida

Silver Springs is an unincorporated community in Marion County, Florida, United States. It is the site of Silver Springs, a group of artesian springs and a historic tourist attraction that is now part of Silver Springs State Park. The community is part of the Ocala metropolitan area.

Silver Springs
Unincorporated community
Silver Springs State Park
Location of Silver Springs, Florida
Coordinates: 29°12′59″N 82°3′28″W
CountryUnited States
StateFlorida
CountyMarion County
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code
34488-34489

One of Florida's first tourist attractions, the springs drew visitors even before the U.S. Civil War. Glass-bottom boats have been a popular way to see the 242-acre (98 ha) complex. A small amusement park with various animals, a concert stage, a carousel, and exhibits also developed.

History
Steamboat and railroad at Silver Springs in 1886.

Silver Springs was founded in 1852.[1]

Since the mid-19th century, the natural environment of Silver Springs has attracted visitors from throughout the United States. Glass-bottom boat tours of the springs began in the late 1870s. In the 1920s, W. Carl Ray and W.M. "Shorty" Davidson, after leasing the land from Ed Carmichael (upon whose death the springs were left to the University of Florida), developed the land around the headwaters of the Silver River into an attraction that eventually became known as Silver Springs Nature Theme Park. The attraction featured native animal exhibits, amusement rides, and 30 or 90-minute glass-bottom boat tours of the springs. The 1934 'Princess Donna' is the oldest and only remaining operational boat from this by gone era. The "Princess Donna' currently operates on Jug Creek in Bokeelia Florida. In 2013, the State of Florida took over operations of Silver Springs and combined it with the adjacent Silver River State Park to form the new Silver Springs State Park. The T. W. Randall House on the National Register of Historic Places is located to the northeast.

Several defunct tourist attractions were once located near Silver Springs. The Western-themed Six Gun Territory theme park, which included several attractions such as the Southern Railway & Six Gun 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge[2] railroad, operated from 1963 to 1984. The Wild Waters water park also existed in Silver Springs and operated from 1978 to 2016.[3][4][5][6][7][8]

Cattle ranch development

Canadian billionaire Frank Stronach has been building the Adena Springs Ranch for cattle, an abattoir, residential property development, and a thoroughbred horse farm in the area, stirring concern over plans for water use and how groundwater draw will affect the springs.[9][10]

Notable people

Transportation

The main road through Silver Springs is State Road 40 which runs east and west from Rainbow Lakes Estates to Ormond Beach in Volusia County. State Road 326 terminates at SR 40, as does State Road 35, which becomes County Road 35 north of SR 40 before terminating at SR 326. County Roads 314 and 314A are also important north-south county roads that run west and into the Ocala National Forest.

  • Silver Springs State Park
  • T. W. Randall House

References
  1. "Marion County". Jim Forte Postal History. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  2. "Surviving Steam Locomotive Search". www.steamlocomotive.com. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
  3. Bevil, Dewayne. "Silver Springs looks back at its 'Sea Hunt' days". orlandosentinel.com. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
  4. VANHOOSE, JOE (2008-05-23). "Silver Springs marks 'Sea Hunt' anniversary - underwater - STAR-BANNER". ocala.com. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
  5. Alec Peirce Scuba (27 April 2017). "Sea Hunt Remembered: Silver Springs, Florida - S02E11". Retrieved 26 May 2017 – via YouTube.
  6. "Sea Hunt (TV Series 1958–1961)". imdb.com. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
  7. "Now Endangered, Florida's Silver Springs Once Lured Tourists". NPR.org. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
  8. Florida, State Library and Archives of. "Shipwreck used during filming of the TV show "Seahunt" - Silver Springs, Florida". Florida Memory. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
  9. Joe Callahan Billionaire makes big donation to Fort McCoy School September 28, 2011 Ocala.com
  10. Nathan Crabbe Water-issue protesters greet UF's Stronach center dedication May 15, 2012 Gainesville Sun
  11. Cook, David (February 14, 2015). "Ed Carmichael plans a trailer park at Silver Springs". Ocala StarBanner. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
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