įollowing the Civil War, Crystal River grew. The Union was aware of this, and soon after the war began, the Union Navy blockaded the entire coast of Florida. By the time of the Civil War, Florida was an important source and supplier of food and other goods such as beef, pork, fish, corn, sugar, cotton, naval stores and salt. While no land battles were fought in the Crystal River area during the Civil War, there were many instances of skirmishes on the water directly off the coast of the Crystal and Homosassa rivers, as well as near Hickory Island in Yankeetown. Mail was delivered by horse and buggy, and a stagecoach came from Ocala ( Fort King) to Crystal River, stopping at the Stage Stand, which today is the Stage Stand Cemetery in Homosassa. By the mid-1800s, families began to settle in the Crystal River area. Twenty-two men filed for patents for land in Crystal River. įollowing the Second Seminole War, settlers were encouraged into the area due to the passing of the Armed Occupation Act of 1842 by the United States federal government. The Native American name for Crystal River was Weewahi Iaca. It was abandoned prior to European colonization for unknown reasons. Īround 500 BCE mound-building Native Americans (possibly Deptford culture) built a settlement along the Crystal River, which in the present day is the Crystal River Archaeological State Park. During excavations for the Crystal River Nuclear Plant in 1969, scientists discovered rhinoceros and mastodon bones, as well as the shells of an extremely large armadillo and a large land tortoise. The west coast of Florida is thought to have extended an additional 50 to 60 miles (80 to 97 km) into the Gulf of Mexico. In the Pleistocene era, the land on which Crystal River is located was vastly different from today. State Road 44 leads east from Crystal River 17 miles (27 km) to Inverness, the Citrus County seat.Īccording to the United States Census Bureau, the city of Crystal River has a total area of 6.8 square miles (17.7 km 2), of which 6.2 square miles (16.0 km 2) is land and 0.66 square miles (1.7 km 2) 9.35% is water.
Routes 19 and 98 pass through the center of the city, leading south 7 miles (11 km) to Homosassa Springs and north 46 miles (74 km) to Chiefland. Kings Bay is fed by a springs system it is connected to the Gulf of Mexico by the Crystal River.Ĭrystal River is located northwest of the center of Citrus County at 28★4′02″N 82☃5′37″W / 28.900670°N 82.593699°W / 28.900670 -82.593699, on the northeast side of Kings Bay and the Crystal River, an inlet of the Gulf of Mexico.
In 2005 there was a movement to dissolve the city which did not succeed, and the city has since grown by annexation. Tourism based on watching and swimming with manatees is the fastest growing contribution to the local economy. Kings Bay can be home to over 400 manatees during the winter when the water temperature in the Gulf of Mexico cools, and is the only place in the United States where people can legally interact with them in their natural conditions without that interaction being viewed as harassment by law enforcement agencies.
Because of this discharge amount, the Crystal River Springs group is the second largest springs group in Florida, the first being Wakulla Springs in Wakulla County near Tallahassee. A first-magnitude system discharges 100 cubic feet or more of water per second, which equals about 64 million gallons of water per day. A cluster of 50 springs designated as a first-magnitude system feeds Kings Bay. The city is situated around Kings Bay, which is spring-fed so it keeps a constant 72 ☏ (22 ☌) temperature year round. Crystal River Preserve State Park is located nearby, and Crystal River Archaeological State Park is located in the city's northwest side.Ĭrystal River is at the heart of the Nature Coast of Florida. The city was incorporated in 1903 and is the self professed "Home of the Manatee". Census estimates of 2018, the city had a population of 3,162. The population was 3,108 in the 2010 census. Crystal River is a city in Citrus County, Florida, United States.
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