Green Cove Springs, FL

Green Cove Springs is the county seat of Clay County, on the St. Johns River southwest of Jacksonville. The city is named for a hydrological spring beside the river, and the sulfur-scented water still feeds a public swimming pool before flowing toward the St. Johns. That spring gives the town a rare natural centerpiece for a county seat. Green Cove Springs feels old Florida in a civic way: courthouse, riverfront, live oaks, military history nearby, and Jacksonville close but not overwhelming.