Nestled back in Blue Springs State Park in Orange City are the former home of the Thursby family and an ancient native shell midden named the Thursby Mound. Louis Thursby, the patriarch of the Thursby family, arrived at Blue Springs in 1856 just after the Seminole Wars had come to an end with the sad success of the Indian Removal Act. For the first years that the Thursby’s lived at Blue Springs, they lived in a simple log cabin that was likely built by Samuel Parson, the first white settler to the area and the man Louis Thursby bought the 133 acres around Blue Springs from. The next decade and a half would be spent building up the family’s trade through the use of steamboats along the spring and river to transport various goods including oranges grown by the Thursbys (these oranges were known for being particularly large and delicious) as well as transporting the mail to their neighbors. The shipping and transportation industry would prove to be rather lucrative for the family as they were able to build a two-story vernacular-style house in 1872 that still stands today. The house is similar in style to colonial houses but with some modifications like higher ceilings in order to adapt it to the Florida heat. The house is now open to the public as a small museum about the Thursby family and their role in the white settlement, industrialization, and modernization of this area of Florida. Sometime between 1900 and 1910, Louis’s son, John moved in with his family and built a third story to the house. The house and property were acquired by the state of Florida in 1972 as part of the new Blue Springs State Park.
 |
| The Thursby House, sitting atop the mound, at Blue Springs State Park. |
 |
| The house operates as a museum, interpreting the Thursby family and their role in early Florida industry. |
I’ll be honest, the shell midden and the nature around it are what really pique my interest at this site. The Thursby House is built on top of the midden and while there is really no exact reason stated as to why they built it there it is fairly obvious because of the high point that can protect the house from potential flooding and provide a good view of the area around it. The mound was excavated only once by Jeffries Wyman in 1873-1874 and then surveyed by anthropologist Clarence B. Moore in the 1890s. If that name sounds familiar, it’s probably because Clarence B. Moore was also the man who excavated Mount Royal in the 1890s! The items they found inside the mound were also rather interesting. They found small sculptures that resembled animals, acorns that were perforated, bones of several animals including deer, opossum, turtle, and alligator, projectile points, and some human bones. Wyman noted that the human bones were punctured in the same way as the other animal bones and this might be evidence of cannibalism by the natives that lived there, however that is not proven. Wyman was also able to estimate the age of the mound to be three to four thousand years old! Knowing some of what the community ate and crafts they made is crucial to tell us about their culture and who they were as people and how they interacted with their environment.
 |
| Come for the history, stay for the glorious spring! |
The risk for the Thursby house and mound are both erosion and storms. The house and mound are right at the edge of the spring and with steady erosion, there will be parts of the mound lost and the house will become closer and closer to being waterfront property. As any Floridian knows, hurricanes and major storms can roll right over the middle of the state which puts the house at risk of severe damage due to storms. As I have mentioned several times before in this series, as climate change continues storms are only going to get worse. Additionally, the archeological sites aren’t the only thing in need of protection: the spring is too. 90% of the state of Florida’s drinking water comes from the aquifers like Blue Spring. It is essential to the survival of Floridians that these springs remain protected because without them we would be a whole lot thirstier. Additionally, Blue Spring is home to a vast array of species including fish, gator, turtles, frogs, manatees, and a thousand more species! Humans are the greatest risk to them due to hunting, pollution, and people being generally stupid (like the two individuals who just earlier this year carved “Trump” into a manatee’s back).
The Thursby house and mound are worth protecting because they are the remains of those who lived here. For the mound itself, they are literally the last pieces of this community’s culture that remain as we have no written history by them. As for the house, it shows how people adapted to their environment and how they were able to grow and thrive in the rugged wilderness of Florida. Even if you don’t agree with me and don’t think these things need to be protected there is one more key part to this area. The spring. By protecting the spring and leaving as little trace of us as possible we protect them. Though the native communities and the Thursby family no longer live there, there are still plenty of living creatures that call it home, and that, in my opinion, and hopefully yours, is worth protecting.
Words and images by Emily Hulet, FPAN Intern.
