The history of water hyacinth management in Florida is inextricably connected to the steamboat...
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The history of water hyacinth management in Florida is inextricably connected to the steamboat traffic on the St Johns and Ocklawaha Rivers and other inland navigable waters of Florida. Water hyacinth was reportedly introduced into the St Johns River near Palatka in the 1880s, and by the turn of the century was interfering with steamboat traffic. Dense hyacinth mats prevented steamers from accessing the docks at Palatka and drifting mats were reported to push steamers off course as they traversed Lake George. Congress authorized the US Army Corps of Engineers to begin removing water hyacinth obstructions from southeastern waters in 1899. By the 1920s, railroads replaced steamboats as the primary mode of transportation in Florida, bringing the age of steamboat transportation to an abrupt end: however, the legacy of water hyacinth grows on in Florida navigable rivers and public lakes.
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Transcript of The history of water hyacinth management in Florida is inextricably connected to the steamboat...
The history of water hyacinth management in Florida is inextricably connected to the steamboat traffic on the St Johns and Ocklawaha Rivers
and other inland navigable waters of Florida.
Water hyacinth was reportedly introduced into the St Johns River near Palatka in the 1880s, and by the turn of the century was interfering with
steamboat traffic.
Dense hyacinth mats prevented steamers from accessing the docks at Palatka and drifting mats were reported to push steamers off course as
they traversed Lake George.
Congress authorized the US Army Corps of Engineers to begin removing water hyacinth obstructions from southeastern waters in 1899.
By the 1920s, railroads replaced steamboats as the primary mode of transportation in Florida, bringing the age of steamboat transportation to an abrupt end: however, the legacy of water hyacinth grows on in Florida
navigable rivers and public lakes.
Golden Age of Sternwheeler Steamboats
St Johns and Ocklawaha Rivers
Palatka - Silver Springs 1870-1920
Principal Steamboats On Line
Marion 1871
Okeehumkee 1873
Osceola 1874
Tuscawilla 1875
Water hyacinth introduced into St Johns River near Palatka - 1880s
Astatula 1881
Waunita 1882
Eureka 1890
Metamora 1893
Hiawatha 1904
Okahumkee - Ocklawaha River - 1880s
Steamer Metamora - Ocklawaha River - 1895
Steamer
Osceola
Ocklawaha River
1896
Kissimmee Waterfront - Lake Toho - 1890s
1900 - The Golden Age of Water Hyacinth Begins in Florida
St Johns River - Abandoned Pilot Boy - Palatka
Steamer Metamora on the Ocklawaha River
Metamora on the bottom in Palatka - 1880s
Steamboat Everglades in water hyacinth- St Johns River - 1898
Steamer Alligator - Palatka - 1899
Hyacinth - Jacksonville RR Yard - Post 1890s Hurricane
River bridge
Crows Bluff Ferry - St Johns River - 1900
Lake Okeechobee - 1910s
City Dock - Lake Toho - 1910s
Lake Toho - 1915
Fisheating Creek - 1917
Hickey Creek - 1917
St Johns River - Palatka - 1920s
Lake Toho Pier - Kissimmee - 1920s
Ocklawaha River loggers
1920s
Steamer Lillie - Everglades - 1925
City Dock - Lake Toho - 1925
Tsala Apopka - 1925
Estero River
1926
Green Cove Springs - 1931
St. Johns River - 1931
St Johns River
1931
Lake Harris - Venetian Gardens construction - 1935
Hillsborough River
Jammed Canal - 1946
Fishing amongst the hyacinths - 1946
Paddling in hyacinth
and lettuce
1947
St Johns River at Deland - 1947
Homosassa Springs
1947
Lake Lochloosa
1949
Suwannee River - 1950
Lake Jackson - Tallahassee - 1951
St Johns River - Tocoi - 1950s
Kissimmee Boatacade - 1954
Lake Okeechobee lock - 1961
St Johns River
1962
Water hyacinth and lettuce - Withlacoochee River - Dunnellon - 1963
Apalachicola - 1965
Apalachicola - 1966
Lake Rousseau - 1966
St Johns River - 1968
Water hyacinth and hydrilla at the Highway 44 bridge Withlacoochee River - 1976
Water Hyacinth Control Measures
Physical / Mechanical
Hyacinth boom
Santa FeLake
1883
Water hyacinth elevator - Withlacoochee River at Dunnellon - 1922
Lake Okeechobee
1930s
Hyacinth rake
Hyacinth dredge - 1930s
Hyacinth dredge
Lake Okeechobee - 1937
Caloosahatchee River at LaBelle - 1939
West Palm Beach Canal - 1939
Hyacinth fence - St Johns River - 1942
Sawboat
Destroyer Boat
Withlacoochee River at Trails
End
1947
Water hyacinth jam on bridge - 1950s
Aqua tractor - 1952
Rodman Reservoir
Governor Kirk - Bartow - 1964
Hyacinth shredder - 1968
Hyacinth shredder - 1968
Hyacinth chopper - 1968
Water Hyacinth Control Measures
Chemical
Poison Boat on the St Johns River
GFC hyacinth control - 1950s
GFC hyacinth control
GFC hyacinth control
GFC Lake Harper - Columbia County
GFC controlling hyacinth - 1968
GFC hyacinth control - 1968
GFC controlling water hyacinth - 1970s
GFC / SWFWMD
Prevention
1969
Water hyacinth weevil release - 1970s
GFC hand removal project
Steamer Okahumkee - St Johns River - 1935
Okahumkee
Sitting among the hyacinths
Hart’s Point,Palatka
1935
Hiawatha
1954
The advent of railroads in 1922
ended the steamboat era in Florida waters - the legacy of
water hyacinth grows on.
