The history of water hyacinth management in Florida is inextricably connected to the steamboat traffic on the St Johns and Ocklawaha Rivers

and other inland navigable waters of Florida.

Water hyacinth was reportedly introduced into the St Johns River near Palatka in the 1880s, and by the turn of the century was interfering with

steamboat traffic.

Dense hyacinth mats prevented steamers from accessing the docks at Palatka and drifting mats were reported to push steamers off course as

they traversed Lake George.

Congress authorized the US Army Corps of Engineers to begin removing water hyacinth obstructions from southeastern waters in 1899.

By the 1920s, railroads replaced steamboats as the primary mode of transportation in Florida, bringing the age of steamboat transportation to an abrupt end: however, the legacy of water hyacinth grows on in Florida

navigable rivers and public lakes.

Golden Age of Sternwheeler Steamboats

St Johns and Ocklawaha Rivers

Palatka - Silver Springs 1870-1920

Principal Steamboats On Line

Marion 1871

Okeehumkee 1873

Osceola 1874

Tuscawilla 1875

Water hyacinth introduced into St Johns River near Palatka - 1880s

Astatula 1881

Waunita 1882

Eureka 1890

Metamora 1893

Hiawatha 1904

Okahumkee - Ocklawaha River - 1880s

Steamer Metamora - Ocklawaha River - 1895

Steamer

Osceola

Ocklawaha River

1896

Kissimmee Waterfront - Lake Toho - 1890s

1900 - The Golden Age of Water Hyacinth Begins in Florida

St Johns River - Abandoned Pilot Boy - Palatka

Steamer Metamora on the Ocklawaha River

Metamora on the bottom in Palatka - 1880s

Steamboat Everglades in water hyacinth- St Johns River - 1898

Steamer Alligator - Palatka - 1899

Hyacinth - Jacksonville RR Yard - Post 1890s Hurricane

River bridge

Crows Bluff Ferry - St Johns River - 1900

Lake Okeechobee - 1910s

City Dock - Lake Toho - 1910s

Lake Toho - 1915

Fisheating Creek - 1917

Hickey Creek - 1917

St Johns River - Palatka - 1920s

Lake Toho Pier - Kissimmee - 1920s

Ocklawaha River loggers

1920s

Steamer Lillie - Everglades - 1925

City Dock - Lake Toho - 1925

Tsala Apopka - 1925

Estero River

1926

Green Cove Springs - 1931

St. Johns River - 1931

St Johns River

1931

Lake Harris - Venetian Gardens construction - 1935

Hillsborough River

Jammed Canal - 1946

Fishing amongst the hyacinths - 1946

Paddling in hyacinth

and lettuce

1947

St Johns River at Deland - 1947

Homosassa Springs

1947

Lake Lochloosa

1949

Suwannee River - 1950

Lake Jackson - Tallahassee - 1951

St Johns River - Tocoi - 1950s

Kissimmee Boatacade - 1954

Lake Okeechobee lock - 1961

St Johns River

1962

Water hyacinth and lettuce - Withlacoochee River - Dunnellon - 1963

Apalachicola - 1965

Apalachicola - 1966

Lake Rousseau - 1966

St Johns River - 1968

Water hyacinth and hydrilla at the Highway 44 bridge Withlacoochee River - 1976

Water Hyacinth Control Measures

Physical / Mechanical

Hyacinth boom

Santa FeLake

1883

Water hyacinth elevator - Withlacoochee River at Dunnellon - 1922

Lake Okeechobee

1930s

Hyacinth rake

Hyacinth dredge - 1930s

Hyacinth dredge

Lake Okeechobee - 1937

Caloosahatchee River at LaBelle - 1939

West Palm Beach Canal - 1939

Hyacinth fence - St Johns River - 1942

Sawboat

Destroyer Boat

Withlacoochee River at Trails

End

1947

Water hyacinth jam on bridge - 1950s

Aqua tractor - 1952

Rodman Reservoir

Governor Kirk - Bartow - 1964

Hyacinth shredder - 1968

Hyacinth shredder - 1968

Hyacinth chopper - 1968

Water Hyacinth Control Measures

Chemical

Poison Boat on the St Johns River

GFC hyacinth control - 1950s

GFC hyacinth control

GFC hyacinth control

GFC Lake Harper - Columbia County

GFC controlling hyacinth - 1968

GFC hyacinth control - 1968

GFC controlling water hyacinth - 1970s

GFC / SWFWMD

Prevention

1969

Water hyacinth weevil release - 1970s

GFC hand removal project

Steamer Okahumkee - St Johns River - 1935

Okahumkee

Sitting among the hyacinths

Hart’s Point,Palatka

1935

Hiawatha

1954

The advent of railroads in 1922

ended the steamboat era in Florida waters - the legacy of

water hyacinth grows on.