Silver Springs (attraction)
Park entrance
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| Date opened | 1878 (When the glass-bottom boat was created) |
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| Date closed | September 15, 2013 (as an attraction) |
| Location | Silver Springs, Florida, United States of America |
| Coordinates | 29°13′05″N 82°03′16″W / 29.21806°N 82.05454°WCoordinates: 29°13′05″N 82°03′16″W / 29.21806°N 82.05454°W |
| Major exhibits | Glass-bottom boat rides |
| Owner | State of Florida |
| Website | www |
Silver Springs is a group of artesian springs that feed into the Silver River in Marion County, Florida. It is the largest artesian spring in the world and Florida's oldest tourist attraction. In 1971 it was designated as a National Natural Landmark. Related amenities developed include glass-bottom boat tours on the river and an amusement park. Long privately owned and operated, the springs area and all associated elements were taken over by the state and made part of Silver Springs State Park in October 2013.
Developed in the late 19th century, the park became a tourist destination for Northerners following the Civil War. Over the years, it changed hands and various operators introduced boat rides and built related attractions, of varying scientific and entertainment quality. It was first used as a location for a Hollywood film in 1916, but became popular with the series of Tarzan films in the 1930s and into the 1950s. The first thorough scientific studies of the Springs were conducted beginning in 1993, and wildlife rehabilitation was started. That year the state bought the underlying land, but private operators continued to conduct the concessions.
Environmental issues such as nitrate runoff, related to development in the region, have affected the health of the park and tourist revenues were declining. On January 23, 2013 the Florida Cabinet announced that the state would take over the facility after the end of the 2013 summer season; the park operators would pay a $4 million buyout of their lease. The state plans to clean up the area and make it part of the adjacent Silver River State Park.
The springs were the first tourist attraction in Florida. In the 1860s, Samuel O. Howse bought the 242 acres surrounding the headwaters of the Silver River. Several years after the American Civil War, the springs began to attract tourists from the North. In the late 1870s, Hullam Jones and Phillip Morell developed the general Glass-bottom boat and the glass bottom rowboat, respectively; these were used to take visitors on the river to give them a spectacular and unique view of the springs. Silver Springs gained national attention through journals and guidebooks, and became a mandatory stop on the "grand tour" of Florida. In 1880 former president Ulysses S. Grant visited the area. In the 1890s commercial-sized glass-bottom boats were developed. H.L. Anderson purchased Silver Springs and the surrounding area from Howse in 1898.
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Wikipedia