WEEKI WACHEE, Fla. — It was designated as a state park more than a decade ago, and now the iconic, mermaid-filled Florida springs have landed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Weeki Wachee Springs joins the more than 1,800 places in Florida on the list.
Hernando County commissioners made the announcement during Tuesday's meeting. The designation took effect Jan. 22, 2020.
"On behalf of Secretary of State Laurel M. Lee and our historic preservation staff, I congratulate you on achieving this formal recognition of the historic significance of this property," Ruben Acosta, survey and registration supervisor for the Bureau of Historic Preservation, said in a letter to commissioners. "We appreciate your interest in preserving this important element of Florida's cultural resources."
The announcement comes as state lawmakers are considering dissolving the city of Weeki Wachee -- a city of just a dozen or so people, a park, a single strip mall and an empty lot.
In November 2019, advocates for the area's springs and river asked state lawmakers to disband the city. Some say a conflict of interest could be harming a treasured natural resource.
That conflict, according to those pushing for the dissolution, is that the city council is made up entirely of park workers. Advocates say the people whose job it is to protect the springs also have a financial motive to increase profits through tourism.
And, since its designation as a state park in 2008, the number of visitors to the springs has exploded.
The push the dissolve the city is now in the hands of the state legislature in Tallahassee for consideration.
The spring was named by Seminole Indians and means "Little Spring" or "Winding River." Its famous underwater mermaid show was created in 1947.
According to Florida State Parks, the spring is so deep that the bottom has never been found.
Besides the iconic mermaids and Mermaid Theater, other cultural and historical resources near the springs include six archaeological sites and structures like the statue of two mermaids at the park's entrance.
Weeki Wachee Springs adds to the list of other places in Hernando County on the National Register, including Chinsegut Hill Manor House, William Sherman Jennings House, May-Stringer House, Judge Willis Russell House, Frank Saxon House, South Brooksville Avenue Russell House, Spring Lake Community Center and Richloam General Store.
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