Ponce de Leon Springs State Recreation Area is a Florida State Park in Holmes County, Florida, USA. It is located in the town of Ponce de Leon. The park, which was created to provide public outdoor recreation and other park-related uses, was initially acquired on September 4, 1970, using funds from the Land Acquisition Trust Fund. Its self-proclaimed purpose is to develop, operate and maintain the property for outdoor recreation, park, historic, and related purposes, offering abundant opportunity for nature appreciation and wildlife viewing. Its primary recreational activities include swimming in the spring and hiking along the park's nature trails. The park's significance lies in the Ponce de Leon Spring, its most distinctive feature, which is fed by the powerful Floridan Aquifer. The spring was named in honor of Juan Ponce de Leon, an explorer who, in 1513, led the first Spanish expedition to Florida. Legend has it that the objective of Ponce de Leon's expedition was to search for a spring that, according to a Taino Indian legend, would restore youth to those who bathed in their waters.” The legend contributes to the Ponce de Leon Springs’ unofficial title, “The Fountain of Youth”. Although named after the Spanish explorer, the springs were previously inhabited by a group of Native Americans with a rich history of activity within the area. The park has a unique ecology, flora, fauna, and is covered by specific conservancy and protective efforts. It is also linked to the Civil War, History Indigenous inhabitants Although named after the Spanish explorer Ponce de León, long before the Europeans arrived in Florida, the springs were previously inhabited by a group of Native Americans known as the Chatot and Chisca Indians. It is believed that the Chisca were once the Yuchi. Hailing from Tennessee, the Yuchi left the Appalachian Highlands due to colonial wars in the 1650s. With little record of them afterwards, it is believed that the tribe split into distinct groups; those that settled near the Choctawhatchee River became the Chisca, who are now extinct. The Chatot lived west of the Apalachicola River and Chipola River basins. They once had territory spanning from the Chattahoochee river to the Choctawhatchee river. The Chatot were fierce defenders of their land, and are mentioned in a 1639 letter from the governor of Florida, in which he expresses surprised about a peace agreement between the Chatot and another tribe as "[the