[ By Kerri L. Post with contributions from Anne Keller, Photos courtesy Visit Florida ]

The St. Johns River—Florida's First Highway

As the perfect way to explore the Florida interior, the St. Johns River, "Florida's First Highway," was heralded by early tourists for its scenic beauty and natural bounty. At 310 miles long, from its headwaters west of Sebastian at Fort Drum Marsh, to its mouth in the Atlantic Ocean at Jacksonville, the St. Johns is the longest river in Florida, and one of only three rivers in the U.S. that flows seemingly backwards from south to north. In the 1800s, steamboats along the St. Johns made Florida a popular winter destination, with weekly round trips from Charleston and Savannah to Jacksonville. Today, these qualities gently flow together making the St. Johns River one of the most mystical and scenic rivers in America.

The St. Johns is an ancient lagoon formed 100,000 years ago after land rose along the coast and trapped a portion of the sea inland. A slight tilt of the land tipped the lagoon north-flowing, meandering instead of rushing, dropping the equivalent of only an inch a mile, pooling in lakes and often flowing backward under the influence of oceanic tides. The St. Johns is also known as a "blackwater" river, because of its dark color, caused by the tannin released by cypress trees and other vegetation.

Different groups over time gave the river different names. Timucuan Indians named it Welaka, meaning river of lakes. French settlers arriving at the river's mouth in May of 1562 called it Riviere de Mai. Spanish sailors called it Rio de Corrientes, or river of currents, but Spanish authorities changed that to Rio de San Juan, named for a nearby mission. When the English briefly succeeded the Spanish and then Americans succeeded all, Rio de San Juan was adapted, and the river is now known as St. Johns.

In 1998 the St. Johns was designated an American Heritage River by President Clinton. The St. Johns is the only Florida river to receive this prestigious national recognition and one of only 14 rivers so recognized throughout the country. Thus was born the St. Johns American Heritage River Initiative (AHRI), a coalition of community leaders, agencies and citizens representing the 10 counties along the river corridor that work together to protect the natural landscape and enrich its cultural and historical qualities by providing educational and recreational programs throughout the region.