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By JoAnne Young

The St. Johns River is such a part of Jacksonville life that most of us think the river belongs to us. We forget it is 310 miles long and begins just north of Lake Okeechobee in south Florida. Jacksonville's very shape has been determined by the river's meandering course. Many of us cross one of its six bridges on our way to and from work. We fish in it, speed boats across it, shoot holiday fireworks over it, build houses and offices on its banks, and we pollute it with waste and chemicals.

The river has served Jacksonville well through the years. It provided the main transportation route during the 1800's. A fleet of about one hundred fifty steamboats operated out of Jacksonville, transporting both passengers and freight. Steamboat races were popular and exciting city events in those early days.

During the Civil War, the river was the scene of intense fighting. In 1864 , more than twelve ships Confederate or Union were sunk in its waters. One of those ships was the Maple Leaf, blown up by a Confederate mine. Keith Holland found the wreck in the deep waters of the St. Johns. Its cargo holds were filled with the personal belongings and camp equipment of three regiments of Civil War combat soldiers.

Before the six bridges were built, ferries moved people across the river. In 1880, enterprising John Brady ferried people across in a dugout. Later, flat boats were rowed across the river from the foot of Liberty Street. This crossing was also the main area where cows were forded across the river. Jacksonville's first name, Cowford, is said to have come from the practice. Two ferries eventually operated on the river; one crossed from the foot of Main Street to the southside and the other from Tallyrand to Arlington. The last ferry trip was on January 2, 1941. The Jackson made its final trip next to the newly completed Main Street Bridge.

The Jacksonville riverfront changed greatly during the last half of the 20th Century as evidenced by this romantic description from Florida A Guide to the Southernmost State written by the Federal Writer's Project of the WPA during the 1930's:
"Within four blocks of the city's palm-fringed square, ocean liners, banana boats, globe-girdling freighters, and occasionally noble four-masted schooners dock, and at the near-by fishhouse wharf, weatherbeaten smacks and crab and shrimp boats discharge their cargoes. . . A dozen or more streets of the business section, ending at the waterfront, afford a maritime vista of gleaming superstructures, towering spars, and wind-whipped flags of many nations" (page 184).
This is definitely not the waterfront of today.

Frenchman Jean Ribault is given credit for the European discovery of the river in 1562. He gave it the name Riviere de Mai (River of May). When the Spanish defeated the French, it was renamed Rio de San Juan (River of Saint John). The Spanish name was later changed to English. The river begins as a marsh at its head waters and as it travels north widens into Lakes George, Harney and Monroe. Between Palatka and Jacksonville it is more than two miles wide.

It is one of the few rivers in the United States that flows north. In Jacksonville, it turns east and flows into the Atlantic. It drops only 30 feet over its entire 310 mile length making it one of the slowest moving rivers in the world.

As recently as the 1950's the St. Johns was a fairly healthy river. Old timers recall that the water was clear enough to see mullet swimming in three or four feet of water. Today, the bottom is not visible in one foot of water. It is estimated that 260 million gallons of sewage is dumped into the St. Johns every day. In addition, pesticides, fertilizer runoff, and industry wastes pour into the river.

As Jacksonville grew from the 1950's to the 1970's, the river became very polluted. Efforts began to improve it. In a dramatic show complete with bands, helicopters, yachts and balloons, Mayor Hans Tanzler and a group from Cypress Gardens water skied on the river to show it was safe and to celebrate the closing of the last raw sewage outfall into the river. This marked a turnaround, but by the 1990's more city growth had undone much of the early effort.

In 1999, the St. Johns was named an American Heritage River. Under this initiative, the federal govenment helps river communities restore their economies, environments and preserve their history. Scenarios of what the American Heritage River Designation can mean to an urban riverfront, a suburban river and a rural riverfront can be found on the American Heritage River Scenarios.

You can download a PDF copy of "River Agenda-A Report Card of First Year Accomplishments" to read what improvements have been started for the St. Johns since the American Heritage designation. Most of us, however, have heard little about what has been done. Improvements should be publicized and visible. The river is one of the city's greatest assets. We want to keep it alive.

Web Sites Consulted and Related Web Sites

St. Johns River Fast Facts
Facts and figures all on one page.

St. Johns River Water Management
All the up to date info about the St. Johns.