history

Poe Springs

In the mid 1940’s Poe Springs was a commercial recreation site with bathhouses, refreshment stand, and picnic facility. Poe was privately owned until 1985 when the initial 75 acres was purchased with a federal grant from the land and water conservation fund. Additional acreage was by SRWMD iand additional grant funds in the 1980’s. The management efforts at Poe center on maintaining the natural beauty of the spring, Santa FeRiver, and surrounding land by monitoring and controlling the volume, location, and type of public access in the park.

In 1987 the county got a permit to dredge the spring boil from a depth of 12 feet to 25 feet.  An archeologist sorted through the 87 cubic yards of material was removed. Other than sand, most of the material was made up of trees and leaves, some construction debris from the old structures, some broken glass, and lead bullets. In 1991 AlachuaCounty finished construction and opened the park to the public.