Hernando County has many natural attractions. Over time one of the natural wonders has been lost completely and another was harvested until there was nearly none left. That’s why we should appreciate the natural wonders that still exist today and not take them for granted.
1. Weeki Wachee Springs
Weeki Wachee Springs outputs well over a 100 million gallons a day on average. The river that flows from the spring is usually crystal clear because of the large flow of water from the aquifer. The water stays cool even on the warmest days.
Under the Springs is a network of underwater caves that connect the Weeki Wachee Springs to other Springs. These passageways criss cross under US 19 sometimes just below the surface other times the passageways descend to over 400 feet below the ground.
In 1947, Newton Perry opened an attraction that starred the natural spring and mermaids. The mermaids dive in and around the spring, sometimes disappearing completely from sight into the opening.
2. Bald Cypress Trees
Florida was home to giant cypress trees many of which were a few thousand years old. These trees could be almost 20 feet in diameter and well over a hundred feet tall. It also happens that cypress wood was preferred for building, since it is resistant to bugs and ages well. Many of these trees were used to fuel many of the building booms in Florida.
The ghost town of Centralia is an excellent example of the harvesting of these magnificent trees. In 1912, there was a large cypress that was reaped for lumber. The bottom cut of the tree had to be quartered with dynamite so that it would fit on the rail cars. A log from the tree was left on the railcar for the public to see. That log was said to have provided 5,476 board feet which is enough to build a house.
It is said that there are still some large cypress in the Chassahowitzka Wildlife Management Area.
3. Devil’s Punch Bowl
Devil’s Punch Bowl was a large lime sinkhole in Hernando. It was even a bit of a tourist attraction. There are several books that mention trips out to see the sinkhole in the early 1900s.
The WPA Guide to Florida: The Sunshine State written by Federal Writers’ Project published in 1939, describes the “Left from Brooksville on the Spring Hill Road to the Devil’s Punch Bowl, 3.5 m., a dry sink an acre in extent and from 60 to 80 feet deep. The conformation is that of a mammoth punch bowl, with stepp, almost unscalable sides.”
From the Florida Geological Survey Annual Report 1921: “There are a number of lime-sinks, the best known of which is the Devil’s Punchbowl, in the woods a few miles northwest of Brooksville, a conical depression perhaps 100 feet in diameter and 50 feet deep.”
From the American Fern Journal in 1915: “However, it happens that the next day I visited the “Devil’s Punchbowl” near Brooksville, which is reputed to be a great place for Maidenhair ferns, without seeing any of the kind; so perhaps the pinnae do not always persist until the new fronds appear in spring.”
Some of the fern specimens at Devil’s Punch Bowl were collected and are in the William and Lynda Steere Herbarium of the New York Botanical Garden. The specimens were collected by J. K. Small, John B. DeWinkeler, and Charles B. Mosier on April 29, 1924.
Devil’s Punch Bowl was located in the area which was the Camp Concrete Rock Company, now part of the Cemex Mine. The sinkhole was most likely mined in the 1950s or 1960s until the bottom of the sinkhole was level with the mine, so there may be no evidence left of its existence.
4. Live Oaks
The South is known for its enormous oak trees. A live Oak can live for over a thousand years and grow more than twenty feet in diameter. The canopy of branches is called a crown and can extend out almost a hundred feet from the trunk.
There are still many large live oaks in the area. The eastern portion of the county contains a number of these grand trees. There is a large oak next to the new silo announcing your entry into Brooksville, there is another between the Saxon Manor and Roger’s Christmas House, and there are others that overhang the canopy road on Fort Dade Avenue heading west out of Brooksville.
5. Coastal Salt Marsh
The coastal salt marsh along the gulf for an estuary for many of the fish, shellfish, and crustaceans. This area provides bountiful fishing and crabbing. The grasses that make up the marsh have extensive root systems which protects the coast in storms.
In Hernando these marshes were used to conceal bootlegged goods especially during the prohibition era. It is even rumoured that pirates used these marshes to hide and evade capture.
6. Brooksville Ridge
The Brooksville Ridge is a collection of ridges and hills that range from 60 feet above sea level to well over 200 feet above sea level. These hills are noticeable in Florida which mostly consists of flat land.
It is said that the Brooksville Ridge and other hills across central Florida exist because the clay soil protected the underlying limestone from dissolution from percolating water. This has allowed the Brooksville Ridge to maintain its hills.
In the hills there are a number of caves in the limestone. There is a cave in the World of Woods that has reached some acclaim.
7. Withlacoochee River
The Withlacoochee River originates in Green Swamp in Hernando County and meanders north before eventually heading out to the Gulf of Mexico. In Inglis the river powered a hydroelectric power plant starting in 1909 and ending in 1960. Lake Rousseau on the river is more than 27 feet above sea level and the lower Withlacoochee River is around sea level. This difference was used to generate power. According to historian Frasier Mountain, the Camp family controlled the land where the dam was built and allowed the power plant to be built under the condition that it supply power to their Camp Castle Mine.
The Withlacoochee River runs through a number of swamps. The water in the river is usually dark because it originates in swamps from rain runoff, although at times it can be reasonably clear if there has not been much rainfall.
There were several towns including Pemberton Ferry and Istachatta, for instance that grew up around ferries that crossed the Withlacoochee River. These ferries enabled stagecoaches and wagons to cross the river.