Editing White Springs, Florida (section)

==History==
The Suwannee River was once the boundary between the [[Timucuan]] peoples to the east and the [[Apalachee]] people to the west. When [[Spain|Spanish]] explorers visited the area in the 1530s, the [[spring (hydrology)|spring]] was visited by Natives from both sides of the river, who believed the water possessed healing powers. The Native Americans considered the spring a sacred healing ground, and used it even in times of war; any tribe member could bathe and drink the [[mineral water]]s without fear of being attacked.<ref name="FSP2019">{{cite web |author1=Staff |title=The Spring House at Stephen Foster |url=https://www.floridastateparks.org/learn/spring-house-stephen-foster |website=[[Florida State Park]]s |access-date=December 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191214152744/https://www.floridastateparks.org/learn/spring-house-stephen-foster |archive-date=December 14, 2019 |language=en}}</ref> The spring water has a "rotten egg" [[sulfur]] smell that comes from dissolved [[hydrogen sulfide]] gas.<ref name="TAMU2019">{{cite web |author1=Mark L. McFarland |author2=T. L. Provin |title=Hydrogen Sulfide in Drinking Water Causes and Treatment Alternatives and |url=http://publications.tamu.edu/WATER/PUB_water_Hydrogen%20Sulfide%20in%20Drinking%20Water.pdf |publisher=Texas A&M University |access-date=December 14, 2019}}</ref>

The settlement was formed in 1831 as '''Jackson Springs''' by businessmen Joseph Bryant, James T. Hooker, his brother William B. Hooker, John Lee, and James D. Prevatt. In addition to the spring, they planned to build a [[ferry]] across the Suwannee River.<ref name="WhiteSprings2011">{{cite web |title=Town of White Springs - Our Town |url=https://www.whitesprings.org/town.html#history |website=www.whitesprings.org |publisher=City of White Springs |access-date=December 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130204090132/http://whitesprings.org/town.html |archive-date=February 4, 2013 |date=2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The following year, Bryant Sheffield purchased the ferry operation rights and the spring, then known as "White Sulpher [sic] Springs".<ref name="FSP2019" /><ref name="Florida1842">{{cite book|author=Territory of Florida|title=Acts and Resolutions of the Legislative Council of the Territory of Florida Passed at Its Twentieth Session: Which Commenced on the Third Day of January and Ended on the Fifth Day of March, 1842|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LLMwAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA15|year=1842|publisher=C.E. Bartlett|page=15}}</ref>
Sheffield drank the mineral waters and touted their ability to cure [[Neurosis|nervousness]], [[kidney]] troubles, and [[rheumatism]], among other problems. In 1842, he constructed a hotel and [[spring house]] from local timber.

During the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], some [[Confederate States Army|Confederate]] soldiers found refuge in the town from [[Union Army|Union]] troops. The family of future governor [[Napoleon Bonaparte Broward]], whose [[Jacksonville, Florida|Jacksonville]] farm was burned by Union forces, moved to a nearby farm which they named "Rebel's Refuge".<ref name="WhiteSprings2011" /> At some point, the springs were renamed "White Sulphur Springs".

Following the Civil War, the tourist business slowly returned. In 1882, the [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] merchants Wight and Powell purchased the property and platted city lots. They sold parcels to other retailers to open businesses catering to plantations and resorts around the spring. Crowds of health seekers arrived, first by [[stagecoach]] and then [[railroad]].<ref name="WhiteSprings2011"/> The '''Town of White Springs''' was incorporated as a [[municipality]] in 1885.<ref name="WhiteSprings2011" /><ref name=WSInc/><ref name=WhiSprInc/> Hotels and boarding houses popped up; a [[cotton gin]] attracted buyers and sellers; and fashionable clothing and hats were offered for sale. Leisure activities included [[ballroom dancing]], [[Tennis|lawn tennis]], and [[Roller skating|skating]].<ref name="WhiteSprings2011"/>

[[Image:WhiteSpringsBathHouse.png|thumb|left|[[Public bathing|Bathhouse]] surrounding White Springs]]
In 1903, the spring was enclosed by concrete and [[coquina]] walls that included multiple water gates and galleries to prevent water intrusion from [[river flood]]ing. A four-story wooden [[Public bathing|bathhouse]] was constructed around the spring.<ref>{{cite web| title=Interior of Bath House, White Springs, Florida| url=http://floridamemory.com/items/show/29721|work=191?| publisher=State of Florida, Division of Library and Information Services| access-date=January 18, 2013}}</ref> The structure was designed by the Jacksonville architectural firm McClure & Holmes for owner Minnie Mosher Jackson, and included doctors' offices for patient examination and treatment, dressing rooms, space for concessions, and an elevator.<ref name=GEM>{{cite web| title=History of White Springs Florida| url=http://www.smalltowngems.com/browsetowns/florida/whitesprings/whitespringsfltownhistory.html| publisher=Small Town Gems| access-date=January 18, 2013}}</ref> At the time, water flow was calculated at 32,400 gallons per minute, or nearly 47 million gallons per day.<ref>{{cite web| title=Bath House, Spring Street, White Springs, Hamilton County, FL| url=http://www.historicmapworks.com/Buildings/index.php?state=FL&city=White%20Springs&id=9041| work=Historic American Buildings Survey ([[Library of Congress]])| publisher=Historic Map Works| access-date=January 18, 2013}}</ref>

During the 1930s, bathing in mineral springs fell out of favor in the United States and the town began to fade. In 1950, the [[Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park|Stephen Foster Memorial Museum]] opened to commemorate songwriter [[Stephen Foster]], composer of the world-renowned song of the Suwannee River, "[[Old Folks at Home]]". The museum is surrounded by formal gardens which extend to the banks of the Suwannee River. A [[carillon]] containing the world's largest set of [[tubular bells]],
<ref name=YAHOO>[http://travel.yahoo.com/p-parks-216921-stephen_foster_state_folk_culture_center-i "Stephen Foster State Folk Culture Center"] [[Yahoo|Yahoo! Travel]]</ref> opened in 1957 and plays Foster's songs throughout the day. The facility is a [[Florida State Parks|Florida State Park]].

Through the 1980s, water flow at the spring declined to the point when it ceased flowing in 1990. The ex-mayor of White Springs, Dr. Helen Miller, was vice chairman of Florida Leaders Organized for Water (FLOW), a group which proposed the Floridan Aquifer Sustainability Act of 2013. The legislation seeks to restore the [[Floridan aquifer]] to 1980 levels.<ref>{{cite news| last=Ritchie| first=Bruce| title=White Springs mayor leads support for water legislation that seeks to protect springs| url=http://www.thefloridacurrent.com/article.cfm?id=30014060| access-date=January 21, 2013| newspaper=[[Florida Current]]| date=October 29, 2012}}</ref>

In 2022, a [[white supremacist]], [[neo-pagan]] religion known as the [[Asatru Folk Assembly]] (AFA), dedicated a [[Heathenry (new religious movement)|Viking neo-pagan]] [[Heathen hof|temple]] in White Springs.<ref name="njordshof.org">{{Cite web|url=https://www.njordshof.org/|title=Welcome Home|website=Njörðshof}}</ref> The temple for the [[hate group]] is dedicated to the [[Viking]] god [[Njörðr|Njord]] and is called "Njordshof" which means "Njord's temple" in [[Old Norse]], the language of the Vikings.<ref name="njordshof.org"/>