Silver Springs, FL

Silver Springs is a Marion County CDP built around the artesian springs that feed the Silver River. More than 30 springs rise in the upper river, and the water runs about four miles east to the Ocklawaha. The springs drew visitors before the Civil War, making the community one of Florida’s earliest tourist destinations. Today the site is part of Silver Springs State Park and remains the feature that gives the place its name.

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Glass-bottom boat tours began here in the late 1870s, turning the clear water beneath the boats into the main attraction. In the 1920s, W. M. Davidson and Carl Ray developed the headwaters into Silver Springs Nature Theme Park, with rides, animal exhibits, and river tours. The State of Florida took over operations in 2013 and joined the attraction with Silver River State Park. Silver Springs still carries both histories: an aquifer-fed natural landmark and an old Florida tourism story that now sits inside a state park.