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The settlement of Orange Springs has been documented as early as the 1820’s when Florida was still a U. S. territory. Fort Russell was built in the vicinity during the period of the Seminole Wars and the area was surveyed and military roads were established. After the war, when the Seminole Indians who occupied the area had been removed and when the Armed Occupation Act encouraged settlement and development, more families moved into the fertile area. Florida became a state in 1845 and the pace of agricultural development quickened with the establishment of cotton plantations and orange groves. David Yulee, one of Florida’s first U.S. senators, and John Pearson, a wealthy planter, jointly purchased the property on which the springs are located. Yulee wanted to construct a railroad through the area but that prospect was never fulfilled and Pearson became the sole owner of the land. Pearson built a hotel, a cotton gin, lumber and grist mill, and a machine shop in Orange Springs.
The hotel facilities and accommodations built for visitors, who could arrive by stagecoach from the nearby town of Palatka, point to the importance of “taking in the waters” in congenial surroundings as a pre-civil war tourist attraction.
The natural spring was one of Florida’s earliest tourist attractions and the town of Orange Springs became a health resort due to the purported restorative qualities of the spring water. But as steamboat traffic opened up the Ocklawaha River route to Silver Springs in the mid-1850’s, the popularity of Orange Springs as a resort waned. However, during the Civil War Orange Springs once more became important, due in large measure to its rather remote and inaccessible location, which served to protect it from Federal forces. Pearson and his associates manufactured, guns, cannons, and munitions used in the defense of Confederate fortifications in Tampa, in a machine shop they had assembled in Orange Springs for the production of a patented cotton gin.
Following the Civil War, conditions in the town were depressed and tourists preferred to travel down the Ocklawaha River to marvel at the crystal clear waters of Silver Springs. The influx of northern visitors to the growing town of Ocala and other parts of the state did not benefit Orange Springs.
In the late 1800’s a turpentine boom began in the area and it somewhat alleviated the economic disaster of the great freeze of 1894-95 which destroyed most of the orange groves in the immediate area. The Townsend brothers from Georgia bought turpentine leases and eventually acquired the property from descendants of John Pearson.
James Townsend constructed the existing two-story house on the grounds and it was used as a summer home for many years. Due to its historical significance described above, it was officially listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 17, 1988. In the future the house may be renovated to host tours.
During the early 1900’s, the Ocala Northern Railroad linked Orange Springs to Ocala to the south and Palatka to the north. During this time a development company purchased vast tracts of acreage and began to feature Orange Springs in its advertising as having “Waters of Wonderful Medicinal Qualities”. With Townsend’s permission, the company built a concrete rim around the Springs, which had always served as the community swimming and gathering place, where political rallies, picnics, church outings, and camp meetings were held. Eventually the real estate development folded and the railroad tracks were removed in the 1920’s.
Many of the elements which contributed to the growth of other towns and cities in Florida were present in Orange Springs: a water related tourist attraction, land speculation, agricultural development, a railroad, access to river transportation, and timber resources, however, the town did not prosper and grow like other areas in the state.
As it turns out and probably most fortunately, tourists no longer went to Orange Springs to “take in the waters” but rather in more recent years, the spring water is bottled and taken to them.
"A man from the west will fight over three things: water, women, and gold, and usually in that order.
- Senator Barry Goldwater
The hotel facilities and accommodations built for visitors, who could arrive by stagecoach from the nearby town of Palatka, point to the importance of “taking in the waters” in congenial surroundings as a pre-civil war tourist attraction.
The natural spring was one of Florida’s earliest tourist attractions and the town of Orange Springs became a health resort due to the purported restorative qualities of the spring water. But as steamboat traffic opened up the Ocklawaha River route to Silver Springs in the mid-1850’s, the popularity of Orange Springs as a resort waned. However, during the Civil War Orange Springs once more became important, due in large measure to its rather remote and inaccessible location, which served to protect it from Federal forces. Pearson and his associates manufactured, guns, cannons, and munitions used in the defense of Confederate fortifications in Tampa, in a machine shop they had assembled in Orange Springs for the production of a patented cotton gin.
Following the Civil War, conditions in the town were depressed and tourists preferred to travel down the Ocklawaha River to marvel at the crystal clear waters of Silver Springs. The influx of northern visitors to the growing town of Ocala and other parts of the state did not benefit Orange Springs.
In the late 1800’s a turpentine boom began in the area and it somewhat alleviated the economic disaster of the great freeze of 1894-95 which destroyed most of the orange groves in the immediate area. The Townsend brothers from Georgia bought turpentine leases and eventually acquired the property from descendants of John Pearson.
James Townsend constructed the existing two-story house on the grounds and it was used as a summer home for many years. Due to its historical significance described above, it was officially listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 17, 1988. In the future the house may be renovated to host tours.
During the early 1900’s, the Ocala Northern Railroad linked Orange Springs to Ocala to the south and Palatka to the north. During this time a development company purchased vast tracts of acreage and began to feature Orange Springs in its advertising as having “Waters of Wonderful Medicinal Qualities”. With Townsend’s permission, the company built a concrete rim around the Springs, which had always served as the community swimming and gathering place, where political rallies, picnics, church outings, and camp meetings were held. Eventually the real estate development folded and the railroad tracks were removed in the 1920’s.
Many of the elements which contributed to the growth of other towns and cities in Florida were present in Orange Springs: a water related tourist attraction, land speculation, agricultural development, a railroad, access to river transportation, and timber resources, however, the town did not prosper and grow like other areas in the state.
As it turns out and probably most fortunately, tourists no longer went to Orange Springs to “take in the waters” but rather in more recent years, the spring water is bottled and taken to them.
"A man from the west will fight over three things: water, women, and gold, and usually in that order.
- Senator Barry Goldwater
