De Leon Springs State Park
6,000 Years of History

First Spanish Period: 1513-1763
British Period: 1763-1783
Second Spanish Period: 1783-1821
U.S. Territorial Period: 1821-1845


6,000 years BP (Before Present)--Native people first lived around the spring and along the spring run. Several shell mounds and middens are located in the park, and in 1990, a 6,000 year old dugout canoe was found in the spring.

1500s--Legend and folklore claim that Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon sought and discovered the mythical Fountain of Youth at De Leon Springs. There is no historical record or archaeological evidence to support this.

1779--Panton, Leslie and Company, the largest British firm specializing in the Indian trade, applied for a land grant covering 500 acres that included De Leon Springs, known then as Spring Garden. At that time, a group of Seminole Indians lived here.

1804--William Williams moved from New Smyrna to settle at Spring Garden and was the first to raise corn, cotton, and sugar.

1823--Major Joseph Woodruff bought 2,020 acres from Williams for $3,000. Woodruff owned the property until his death in 1828, while returning from a business trip to New York to purchase sugar-making equipment. His wife Jane died 6 years later and both are buried in Charleston, SC.

1831--Colonel Orlando Rees obtained the property from the Woodruff family. Rees, with 90 slaves, constructed the only water powered sugar mill in Florida. The surrounding fields were planted in sugar cane, corn and cotton.

1832--Naturalist John James Audubon visited the Rees plantation for a few days. Rees took Audubon exploring along the waterways, and an island was named after him. He spoke of "beautiful flowers, rich looking fruits, a pure sky" and named it a "garden." Here he first saw the limpkin.

1835--Seminoles attacked the Rees plantation, destroying the mill and houses, and stealing slaves and cattle. Joseph Woodruff led a militia force against the Seminoles, forcing them from the area.

1838--U.S. troops under the command of General Zachary Taylor occupied Spring Garden. The remaining Seminoles left the area.

1842--The Second Seminole War ended.

1845--Florida became the 27th state.

1854--Thomas Starke bought the Rees property, rebuilding the sugar mill.

1864--During the Civil War, the Starke plantation provided grain and produce to the Confederates. In 1864, Union troops under Colonel Nobel destroyed the plantation and sugar mill.

1872--Major George Norris bought the spring property and rebuilt the mill in 1878.

1880s--A small tourist resort was built at the spring and the community name was changed from Spring Garden to De Leon Springs. During this time, the railroad reached the town, bringing tourists.

1920--The spring was dammed for use as a power source. The Clyde Beatty Circus began wintering at De Leon Springs.

1925--The De Leon Spring Inn and casino were built.

1953--The resort was developed as an attraction, adding gardens, jungle cruises, and a water circus with an elephant on water skis.

1982--The State of Florida purchased the property and it became De Leon Springs State Park.