Journey by Steamboat
George Barker (1844-1894)
Silver Springs, Florida, From the Morgan House, Steamboat
Approaching Dock
Albumen silver print, 1886
Prints & Photographs Division
Copyright deposit, 1886 (133.14a)
Digital ID# ppmsca-09548
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Tourists discovered Florida's tropical foliage and mild, sunny
climate in the 1870s. Before train travel, visitors to Silver Springs
in the state's north-central region began their overnight journey
by steamboat at Palatka, south of Jacksonville. They entered the
Ocklawaha River and proceeded through a dense swamp forest to the
crystal clear waters of the eight-mile "run" that ended
at the famous springs. This stunning photograph was taken by George
Barker, a prominent landscape photographer. He traveled to northern
Florida in the 1880s to record the lush landscape and expanding
tourist trade on glass plate negatives as large as sixteen by twenty
inches.
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