Elder Spring
Seminole County
Summary of Features
- Scale -0 magnitude (no longer flows)
- Scenery - poor
- How Pristine? - overgrown concrete & tin enclosure, adjacent to highway& empty house
- Swimming - no
- Protection - unknown
- Crowds - none
- Access - in side yard
- Facilities - none
- Safety - unknown
- Scuba - no
- Cost - free
Directions
From Orlando, go north on U.S. 17/92 for about 12 miles to intersection with Highway 427. Turn right or NE onto 427 and proceed 1.2 miles. The spring is 100 feet north (on the left side) of the highway in the side yard of an abandoned house. The house is also almost directly across the street from the Free Will Baptist Church.
Spring Description
The spring site lies at the top of a wooded slope and no longer has any visible flow. The spring is enclosed in a circular concrete structure with a conical tin roof. The enclosure is about 10 feet in diameter and 12 feet high and was in a condition of advanced disrepair and natural reclamation on date of visit in June 2001. The yard around the spring enclosure and the enclosure itself are covered in either kudzu or similar-looking creeping vine. There does not appear to have been any flow from this site for decades.
According to Rosenau et al., water from this surficial/water-table spring was bottled and sold for many years, beginning in 1900. The bottled water was used for drinking and "as a substitute for distilled water in batteries." The spring was still flowing in the 1970s and was used by the residence for drinking and to fill a pool in the yard (1977, p.336). There is no sign of a pool at the site today; it may be behind the house in an area JF did not explore.
Use/Access
- The site is abandoned and overgrown with foliage to the point that it was nearly invisible from the road only 100 feet away.
Personal Impressions
Even though the spring no longer flows, locating this overgrown site was the find of the year for JF. Thousands of people drive by it every day, it is likely that very few know that this interesting little piece of Florida history lies within view under the vines, quietly giving way to neglect and Mother Nature.
Nearby Springs
- Wekiwa Springs
- Rock Springs
- Clifton Springs
- Lake Jessup Spring
- Palm Spring
- Sanlando Spring
- Miami Spring
- Starbuck Spring
- Gemini Springs
- Seminole Spring
- Green Spring
- Health Spring
- Volusia Blue Spring
Other Nearby Natural Features
- Blue Springs State Park
- Hontoon Island State Park
- Wekiwa Springs State Park
- Ocala National Forest
- Tosohatchee State Reserve