NATURE & HISTORY
Monorail ride at the Rainbow Springs attraction around the 1970s
The area surrounding the park has been inhabited by human cultures for at least 10,000 years. People we now call the Timucua lived here at the time of European contact. The city of Ocala is named after a nearby Timucuan village and chief called Ocale. Pioneers first settled the headsprings in 1839.
Rainbow Springs “submarine” sightseeing boat where passengers sat below the waterline looking out underwater windows
By 1883, about 75 people lived in this agricultural community, which had a railroad station, sawmill, hotel, stores and a post office. In the 1920s, Blue Springs and Blue Run were favorite spots for tourists and locals. As the attraction grew, the river was dredged for glass bottom boat tours; and waterfalls were built on piles of phosphate tailings. A zoo, rodeo, gift shops and a monorail with leaf-shaped gondolas were added. In the mid-1970s, when larger theme parks lured the tourists away, Rainbow Springs was closed.
In the mid-1990s, it reopened as a state park. In 1972, the U.S. Department of the Interior designated Rainbow River as a National Natural Landmark. It is also an aquatic preserve and an Outstanding Florida Water. The river supports abundant wildlife, including otters, alligators, many species of turtles and fish, and every variety of waterbird—waders, divers and dabblers. Osprey, hawks and swallowtail kites soar along the river corridor while smaller birds and animals hide in the lush vegetation. Many animal species, including the endangered gopher tortoise, Florida pine snake, indigo snake, Sherman’s fox squirrel and the Florida mouse inhabit the uplands surrounding the springs and river.
