Blue Springs is one of the Most Historic Places in Jackson County

I've written quite a bit here about Blue Springs, the beautiful first magnitude spring a few miles east of Marianna.

This stunning natural spring, which pours out an average of 73 million gallons of clear water a day, has played a key role in the history of the the area for hundreds of years. Archaeological evidence from the vicinity indicates that Native American hunters frequented the spring for thousands of years before the first European explorers entered what is now Jackson County.

The Spanish visited Blue Springs, which they called Calistoble or Calutoble (depending on the source), in 1674, 1675, 1676, 1686 and 1693. The British made note of the road that passed by the spring as being a major trail during the era of the American Revolution. Future President and Major General Andrew

 Jackson passed the spring in 1818 during the First Seminole War. It was settled by less than two years later by William Pyles, who crossed into Florida while it was still Spanish territory and threw up a log cabin and started farming at Blue Springs.

Over the years that followed, the main spring became a focal point on the 3,100 acre cotton plantation of William Robinson, which was incorporated into the more than 6,000 acre Sylvania Plantation of Florida's Confederate governor, John Milton.

To learn more about the history of Blue Springs, please visit the new webpage on the spring at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/jacksonbluespring.