Wintertime a prime time at Blue Spring

Mark Lane, The Daytona Beach News-Journal
·1 min read
A stereoscopic photo card of Blue Spring from 1902.
A stereoscopic photo card of Blue Spring from 1902.

December and January tend to be peak season at Blue Spring State Park.

On Christmas Eve, 277 manatees were counted there. That’s because colder weather draws manatees to the relative warmth of the spring, which keeps a constant 72-degree temperature. And manatees, in turn, draw manatee watchers.

Louis Thursby purchased the area around Blue Spring in 1856. In steamboat days, his landing at Blue Spring was a popular stop-off. Thursby’s house, a white three-story pine structure built in 1872 atop a mound, still presides over the park.

The state had shown an interest in creating a park there since the 1960s and finally bought the land in 1972 for $1.3 million, then purchased additional property around the spring in 1978.

“The Blue Spring purchase is a worthwhile investment that will benefit both man and an endangered species,” a Daytona Beach Evening News editorial stated, applauding the long-sought action.

The spring is closed to water activities from November to April, the months when manatees congregate there. During those months, the park must often limit the number of visitors who arrive to watch the slow-moving marine mammals.

— Mark Lane

Blue Spring Landing in 1892. Photo by Clarence B. Moore. Moore, an amateur archeologist, outfitted a steamboat, The Gopher, to travel rivers as he documented Native American mounds.
Blue Spring Landing in 1892. Photo by Clarence B. Moore. Moore, an amateur archeologist, outfitted a steamboat, The Gopher, to travel rivers as he documented Native American mounds.
A horse-drawn wagon on the road through Stark Hammock from Blue Springs to Beresford.
A horse-drawn wagon on the road through Stark Hammock from Blue Springs to Beresford.
A group of women exploring Blue Spring in 1890, when the spring was a popular stopping-off point for steamboats.
A group of women exploring Blue Spring in 1890, when the spring was a popular stopping-off point for steamboats.
A young visitor surveys the spring in 1969, a few years before it became a state park
A young visitor surveys the spring in 1969, a few years before it became a state park

Do you have vintage photos to share?

Do you have photos that depict the people, landmarks and story of Volusia and Flagler counties? Don't leave them hidden away in boxes and albums. Send a scan or photo to mark.lane@news-jrnl.com for possible use on future historic photo pages.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Blue Spring enters its 50th year as a state park