The Alachua City Commission and the Alachua County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) voted to direct their staffs to work together on the restoration and preservation of Pinkoson Spring. 

Alachua’s Assistant City Manager, Rodolfo Valladares, told the commissions that the property falls with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s (FDEP) priority focus area and has a rich history in the county. 

“We have an opportunity to protect the resources which lie beneath our earth, in our creeks, and most importantly in our people,” Valladares said. 

Pinkoson Spring is a tributary to Turkey Creek, and the city’s field testing indicated that it is likely water that flows from the aquifer. 

The water chemical values are comparable to other Alachua County springs, and Valladares said the rate of discharge is currently about 140 gallons per minute. Alachua City Manager Mike DaRoza clarified that the rate of discharge is seasonal, but while it will likely fluctuate, the spring historically has plenty of water for swimming. 

David Wisener, the city’s economic development manager, gave a briefing on the spring’s history, starting as a prominent recreation area built in 1925 by Charles Pinkoson Sr., grandfather of former county commissioner Lee Pinkoson. Pinkoson sold the spring in 1940, and it became known as Milwaukee Spring, reserved for African Americans. 

Alachua County citizens, led by Charles Chestnut, Sr., grandfather of County Commissioner Charles “Chuck” Chestnut III, proposed to make the area into a facility for Black soldiers during their time off from Camp Blanding. Though the plan won the support of a county commissioner and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), it quietly fell through, and the spring was sold again in 1944 to become Mineral Springs with no indication of segregation. 

Somewhere along the way, the spring fell out of use and business, though it was documented as a historical site in 1962 and 1972. 

Valladares said the next step for the spring is to establish multi-stakeholder partnerships with entities such as the county, FDEP and the Suwannee River Water Management District. He said the city wants to create a holistic approach to water quality monitoring and management, habitat restoration and protection, community engagement and education, and other aspects of protecting the area. 

Valladares noted the spring is also within driving distance of Mill Creek Preserve, where community members or students can go learn about how that water goes down into the drinking aquifer, then can drive down the road to see where the water comes back up at Pinkoson Spring. 

Community members spoke up during public comment to ask the commissions to be careful to preserve the site’s historic value as well as its environmental qualities. A few also noted there is a large development slated to go in at Schmidt Farms, near the property, which they would rather see become conservation land. 

“This is a great opportunity to really give pause to any development project that is on that Schmidt property,” resident Tamara Robbins said. 

Several county commissioners expressed excitement over the idea, both environmentally and for the history that they said they had not heard before. 

“I’m excited for this opportunity to sort of highlight history, and begin to restore a spring back to, potentially, what it might be in terms of water quality, and water quantity, and flow,” County Commissioner Anna Prizzia said. 

Prizzia made a motion to direct county staff to work with Alachua’s city staff, and Alachua Commissioner Jennifer Blalock made a mirroring motion on the city’s side. Both motions passed unanimously. 

“This is another ecological partnership that will really be special for the city of Alachua and Alachua County, and Suwannee River Water Management, to say we can do it, and we will,” Mayor Gib Coerper said.