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

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.