Vacationers
Worldwide vacationers have long sought the “real Florida” along this byway. Local Florida folks come to picnic, stay in a cabin, or float in a spring or the river.
William Carl Ray & W.C. Davidson – Amusement Park Creators
In 1924, this team brought together a vision for Silver Springs. They featured the glass-bottom boats, which gave visitors a clear view deep into the crystal waters. These unique boats helped Silver Springs become a popular pre-Disney Florida attraction. Its fame was increased by the many films and T.V. shows produced there, including Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) and over 100 episodes of the T.V. Classic Sea Hunt (1958-61).
In 2013, the Amusement Park had fully transformed into a Florida State Park. The glass-bottom boat tours are still available, and visitors can also check out the Silver River Museum located in the park.
Portrait of Harriet Beecher Stowe, 1852
Harriet Beecher Stowe – Author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin and Early Travel Writer
Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote one of the first “tourism” articles about Ocala and the St. Johns River area in 1879. Her writing was the first to inspire Northerners to think of Florida as a vacation spot. She wrote that she and her fellow travelers were “wild with inherent raptures” on the river after she overcame her wariness of a steamboat trip.
Learn more at the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center
Photo courtesy of the West Volusia Historical Society
The Astors – Developing Steamboat Culture Along the St. Johns River
The wealthy Astor family of New York was interested in developing the area that is Astor today and bought 12,000 acres in 1874. William Backhouse Astor, Jr. first called the town Manhattan, and tourists visited his hotel on the St. Johns River by steamboat.
Just up SR 40, Astor Park grew up along the shores of Lake Schermerhorn, which was named for Astor’s wife, Caroline Schermerhorn Astor. After William died, the town was renamed Astor.
William’s son, John Jacob Astor IV, inherited his father’s estate and continued to promote the area. Sadly, he died on the sinking Titanic in 1912, and his descendants sold off family interests, as the steamboat industry was then in decline.
Adventurers
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