The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1916-12-26
SILVER SPRINGS
Is One of the Most Useful as Well
the Most Beautiful Attributes
of Ocala

of 0cala
Hernando de Soto discovered Sill
yer Springs in A. d. 1889, but we d
not believe the people of Ocala reall,
discovered it until the summer o
1916, tho of course most of then
were aware in a general way that i
was there
The only reason they discovered i
then was that Ed. Carmichael put III
big bathhouse and did other thing:
to make it very pleasant place fol-
them to go to. It's dollars to dough.
nuts that Is per cent. of those who
bathed there last summer never stop
ped to view its beauties with a really
appreciative eye, and probably a
smaller proportion stopped to figure
out what commercial asset to Ocala
it was, and how much greater one it
could be made.
If DeSoto and his cavaliers water
ed their horses in Silver Springs three
and three-quarter centuries ago. they
probably found it one of the loveliest
pieces of natural scenery in the world.
Only savages dwelt near it, and while
the savage does not improve naturs
he does not deface it more than he
has to. Silver Springs then doubt
less lay in unnamed as well as un-
defiled beauty-a flashing jewel to
reflect the sunrays, limpid mirror
for the stars, the forests around its
rim pierced only by few slender
paths marked by the feet of wild ami
mails and untamed men-a place
where wood nymphs and water
nymphs met at any hour to exchange
condolences. Then came the civilized
man, and as civilized men have al
ways done on this continent, he lop-
ped away the trees with unsymmet-
rical force, built ugly wooden struc.
lures by the spring, defiled the waters
with refuse and the woods with de-
bris, thus making both the wood
nymphs and the water nymphs grieve,
and finally driving them away.
So Silver Springs remained the
better part of century, its rare
beauty asserting itself against neg
lect, observed by almost every visitor
but disregarded by most of those at
home.
In the last few years, Mr. Carmich-
ael has been improving the. surround
ings to the springs, and in the last
two, he has (or he says his wife has)
been trying to beautify them, and al
though the work has been against
considerable disadvantages and dis
couragement, there is almost as much
difference between the Silver Springs
or today and the Silver Springs of a
quarter of century ago as there was
between the Silver Springs of 1890
and the Silver Springs of 1889.
What strikes the eye most impress
slvely is cutting out the underground
or the north side of the river. The
Star reporter stood the other day in
the pavilion and looked east along the
river and reflected to himself that
there was then more unobstructed
view down the stream than there had
been at any time since the day prob
ably tens of thousands of years ago,
when the new vegetation rising from
the soil first clad the banks of the
river in green. This is going to
make very great attraction, and will
be better appreciated by our home
folks who know how it has looked up
to the last few weeks, and can soon
see the entire silver band of the river
to the point where it looks like it
falls over the rim in it's rush down
thru the canon of the cypress walls
toward the Oklawaha.
In the last few weeks, Mr.. Carmi-
chael, beside having this underbrush
cut out has had the low places on the
eastern side of the spring filled with
clean sand, which the Oklawaha Val
ley railroad has patriotically hauled
in for him. The old Robinson boat
house, which stood on the little point
at that side has been removed. These
three things make a wonderful i'm
and clearing out Of brush
and filling in of the low places is GO
ing on until all that side clear down
TO the end of the springs has been
The low place to the north of the
railroad will also be cleared and filed
nm and level. healthy ground viii