White Springs is a town in North Florida, United States, on the Suwannee River. It was developed as a tourist attraction for its mineral spring water baths. The population was 740 at the 2020 census. Home of the annual Florida Folk Festival, it is a tourist destination noted for historic charm, antique shops, and river recreation.
History
The Suwannee River was once the boundary between the Timucuan peoples to the east and the Apalachee people to the west. When Spanish explorers visited the area in the 1530s, the spring was visited by Natives from both sides of the river, who believed the water possessed healing powers. The Native Americans considered the spring a sacred healing ground, and used it even in times of war; any tribe member could bathe and drink the mineral waters without fear of being attacked. The spring water has a "rotten egg" sulfur smell that comes from dissolved hydrogen sulfide gas.
The settlement was formed in 1831 as Jackson Springs by businessmen Joseph Bryant, James T. Hooker, his brother William B. Hooker, John Lee, and James D. Prevatt. In addition to the spring, they planned to build a ferry across the Suwannee River.
The following year, Bryant Sheffield purchased the ferry operation rights and the spring, then known as "White Sulpher [sic] Springs".
Sheffield drank the mineral waters and touted their ability to cure nervousness, kidney troubles, and rheumatism, among other problems. In 1842, he constructed a hotel and spring house from local timber.
During the Civil War, some Confederate soldiers found refuge in the town from Union troops. The family of future governor Napoleon Bonaparte Broward, whose Jacksonville farm was burned by Union forces, moved to a nearby farm which they named "Rebel's Refuge". The structure was designed by the Jacksonville architectural firm McClure & Holmes for owner Minnie Mosher Jackson, and included doctors' offices for patient examination and treatment, dressing rooms, space for concessions, and an elevator. At the time, water flow was calculated at 32,400 gallons per minute, or nearly 47 million gallons per day.
During the 1930s, bathing in mineral springs fell out of favor in the United States and the town began to fade. In 1950, the Stephen Foster Memorial Museum opened to commemorate songwriter Stephen Foster, composer of the world-renowned song of the Suwannee River, "Old Folks at Home". The museum is surrounded by formal gardens which extend to the banks of the Suwannee River. A carillon containing the world's largest set of tubular bells, opened in 1957, and plays Foster's songs throughout the day. The facility is a Florida State Park.
Through the 1980s, water flow at the spring declined to the point when it ceased flowing in 1990. The ex-mayor of White Springs, Dr. Helen Miller, was vice chairman of Florida Leaders Organized for Water (FLOW), a group which proposed the Floridan Aquifer Sustainability Act of 2013. The legislation seeks to restore the Floridan aquifer to 1980 levels.
In 2022, a white supremacist, neo-pagan religion known as the Asatru Folk Assembly (AFA), dedicated a Viking neo-pagan temple in White Springs. The temple for the hate group is dedicated to the Viking god Njörðr (Njord) and is called "Njörðshof" which means "Njord's temple" in Old Norse, the language of the Vikings.
Demographics
2010 and 2020 census
{| class="wikitable"
|+White Springs racial composition<br /> (Hispanics excluded from racial categories)<br /> (NH = Non-Hispanic)<br />
!Race
!Pop 2010
!Pop 2020
!% 2010
!% 2020
|-
|White (NH)
|363
|303
|46.72%
|40.95%
|-
|Black or African American (NH)
|376
|393
|48.39%
|53.11%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native (NH)
|0
|5
|0.00%
|0.68%
|-
|Asian (NH)
|2
|2
|0.26%
|0.27%
|-
|Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian (NH)
|0
|0
|0.00%
|0.00%
|-
|Some other race (NH)
|0
|0
|0.00%
|0.00%
|-
|Two or more races/Multiracial (NH)
|10
|21
|1.29%
|2.84%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|26
|16
|3.35%
|2.16%
|-
|Total
|777
|740
|
|
|-
|}
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 740 people, 464 households, and 282 families residing in the town.
As of the 2010 United States census, there were 777 people, 316 households, and 207 families residing in the town.
2000 census
As of the census it was consolidated into a new elementary school, Hamilton County Elementary School, located in an unincorporated area south of Jasper. Its opening was scheduled for August 2017.
The Suwannee River Regional Library System operates the White Springs Public Library.
Historic architecture
Many of the original Victorian buildings survive, particularly within the White Springs Historic District, established in 1997 by the National Register of Historic Places.
Notable people
- Harry H. Gleaton (1906–1998), member of the Florida House of Representatives
- Albion W. Knight (1859–1936), coadjutor bishop of New Jersey
- Ivy Julia Cromartie Stranahan
Gallery
<gallery widths="150px" class="center">
File:South Hamilton Elementary School, White Springs.JPG|South Hamilton Elementary School (now closed)
File:White Springs post office.JPG|White Springs Post Office
Image:Johns House White Springs03.jpg|Historic Johns House
Image:White Springs Hist Dist Adams House01a.jpg|Adams House in the historic district
File:Adams Country Store, White Springs.jpg|Adams Country Store
</gallery>
See also
- Suwannee River Water Management District
References
External links
- Town of White Springs official website
- Florida Folk Festival
- Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center
- Homepage of the Florida Folklife Collection (housed at the State Archives of Florida) which includes thousands of images and recordings of the Florida Folk Festival; held annually in White Springs, Florida