Springs Fever: A Field & Recreation Guide to 500 Florida Springs.

Mill Pond Spring

Jackson County

Summary of Features

  • Scale - 2nd magnitude
  • Scenery - fine
  • How Pristine? - run is beautiful, houses and docks near spring, water extracted nearby
  • Swimming - private
  • Protection - unknown, private
  • Access - private, no access

Directions

From U.S. 90 in Marianna, go west on Highway 276, pass under Interstate 10, and continue on to Highway 167. Turn left and go until you pass CountyRoad 1656. Continue on 1.1 miles to Mystery Springs Road. A gray doublewide trailer home is at the intersection. Turn left and proceed 1.4 miles on a dirt road until it and the forest on the left seem to end and there is a large "No Trespassing" sign. Turn left just before the sign onto a narrow dirt road and drive about 100 yards to the water, which is the east run of Black Spring. Proceed by boat 200-300 feet to the left (west) to thespring basin.

From Black Spring, take the west run 100 yards and go upriver about 1.25 miles. Bear left (south) as the "Lake" narrows, staying with the mainflow and going against it. The "Lake" narrows from 500 feet across to 40 feet and turns southerly. This narrow portion goes about 150 feet but then widens to form a large oval pool about 400 feet by 125 feet, culminating at the spring.

Spring Description

The spring forms the headwaters of Spring Lake, the run that is subsequently fed by Springboard, Double, Black, and Gadsen (or Gadsden) Springs and flows on to the Chipola River. On their initial visit, the authors were able to view the spring from a distance of 300 feet. In the late 2000s they were able to visit the spring from the land of the property owner during a visit of the Florida Springs Task Force, but this was in a time of very high water. The following description, therefore, relies on Rosenau et al. (1977) for a precise description of the spring itself:

The spring vent is a 5-foot-wide irregular opening in a clayey/dolomitic limestone. It is on the west side of a steep-walled 30-foot diameter cavity more than 50 feet deep. Large limestone blocks are scattered around the vent. The water is clean, clear and very blue—visibility is excellent (p. 184).The spring forms a pool/basin that is 125 wide and 400 feet long. Except at the vent, this pool is very shallow and was only 1-2 feet deep on the authors’ date of visit (Feb. 2001).  The flow from the spring is 20-30 cfs.  There are houses on the hills on the west and south sides ofthe basin, and deep woods to the east and north. Water in the pool is very clear, and the authors could discern from a distance that the water over the vent was blue. There is a dock adjacent to the spring, and land slopes upward from the spring.  The spring has also been known as Cherokee Spring.

Use/Access

Personal Impressions

The springs and run at this site are nearly—not quite but nearly—comparable to the incomparable spring-created and -fed Ichetucknee River.  Both are spring runs of great natural beauty and include several significant and large-scale springs. The difference is that the land at Spring Lake is in private hands, and the owners want to keep all this beauty (and money-making potentil from water sales) to themselves, and have to a large degree succeeded in doing so.  Perhaps the State of Florida or conservation organizations might have identified or worked to acquire this outstanding area years ago before it was developed and closed off, but that is now all spring water under the bridge.  Alas

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Other Nearby Natural Features