In the early part of the 20th century, gargantuan bald cypress trees dominated the swampy lowlands of what is now Chassahowitzka WMA. Trees with diameters of 16 feet were not uncommon.
However, at a time when trees were seen mainly for their financial potential, the ancient forests were doomed. A boom town named Centralia sprung up around one of the largest logging mills to ever exist in Florida.
Centralia existed for seven years before the mill became unprofitable due to the lack of available trees. Fifteen hundred people lost their jobs and nature began to reclaim the site.
Today, intrepid visitors can discover this history for themselves. Hidden among cabbage palms and pines sits the Centralia town site. Trees and vines cover concrete foundations and slowly-rotting cypress trunks decay slowly in the old float pond.
However, at a time when trees were seen mainly for their financial potential, the ancient forests were doomed. A boom town named Centralia sprung up around one of the largest logging mills to ever exist in Florida.
Centralia existed for seven years before the mill became unprofitable due to the lack of available trees. Fifteen hundred people lost their jobs and nature began to reclaim the site.
Today, intrepid visitors can discover this history for themselves. Hidden among cabbage palms and pines sits the Centralia town site. Trees and vines cover concrete foundations and slowly-rotting cypress trunks decay slowly in the old float pond.
Information by University of Florida
Cypress trees in Florida are either bald cypress (Taxodium distichum var. distichum) or pond cypress (Taxodium distichum var. nutans). Both lose their leaves in the fall and have the characteristic knobby "knees"—roots that protrude above the soil.
While they are similar, you can tell the difference between the two by identifying a few key clues:
Cypress trees tend to grow in forested wetlands, along streams and rivers, in spring runs and ponds, and in places with still or slow-moving water. Cypresses are the most flood-tolerant of all Florida's trees, which is why they dominate swamps that have long flood periods.
Benefits of Cypress SwampsWildlife HabitatCypress swamps are home to many species, including rare and endangered animals. Large mammals and birds especially take advantage of the plant density and hollow trees of the swamps.
Flood ControlCypress ponds are depressions in the ground that can hold more water than just soil. Cypress ponds can absorb runoff from storms and slow or prevent flooding during storm events.
Water QualityCypress can maintain and improve water quality in the environment. The soil and plants in cypress ponds can remove both phosphorus and nitrogen from treated wastewater. While cypress can handle these nutrients and filter them, smaller organisms can still be impacted by wastewater in the environment.
Cypress HistoryGeologists believe that cypress trees have been growing in the State for about 6,500 years. In the first part of the 20th century, logging removed most of the large old-growth cypress in Florida. Bald cypress wood became known for its durability and workability.
Cypress wood was used for shingles, siding, piling, ladders, fence posts, stakes, and water tanks and cisterns. By the 1930s, Florida was the leading state in cypress lumber production. In the following years, the cypress industry experienced small rises and falls.
In the 1990s, cypress harvest started to rise again as trees in previously harvested swamps grew to merchantable size. However, these trees have less decay-resistant hardwood than was found in old-growth cypress. Currently, cypress trees are harvested mainly for saw timber and landscape mulch.
Originally cypress mulch was produced using waste wood from sawmills. However the increased demand for mulch has led to an increase in harvesting the smaller pond cypress, as well as other cypress previously thought too small for harvesting.
UF/IFAS Extension does not recommend purchasing cypress mulch for your landscape. Younger trees harvested for mulch do not have the natural pest resistance of old-growth wood, and cypress tress are needed in our swamps where they serve an important ecological function.
While they are similar, you can tell the difference between the two by identifying a few key clues:
- Bald cypress trees are larger. They can grow to about 150 feet and reach six feet in diameter.
- Bald cypress leaves are flat and grow on both sides of the branchlets.
- Pond cypress leaves grow scale-like, close to the branchlets.
Cypress trees tend to grow in forested wetlands, along streams and rivers, in spring runs and ponds, and in places with still or slow-moving water. Cypresses are the most flood-tolerant of all Florida's trees, which is why they dominate swamps that have long flood periods.
Benefits of Cypress SwampsWildlife HabitatCypress swamps are home to many species, including rare and endangered animals. Large mammals and birds especially take advantage of the plant density and hollow trees of the swamps.
Flood ControlCypress ponds are depressions in the ground that can hold more water than just soil. Cypress ponds can absorb runoff from storms and slow or prevent flooding during storm events.
Water QualityCypress can maintain and improve water quality in the environment. The soil and plants in cypress ponds can remove both phosphorus and nitrogen from treated wastewater. While cypress can handle these nutrients and filter them, smaller organisms can still be impacted by wastewater in the environment.
Cypress HistoryGeologists believe that cypress trees have been growing in the State for about 6,500 years. In the first part of the 20th century, logging removed most of the large old-growth cypress in Florida. Bald cypress wood became known for its durability and workability.
Cypress wood was used for shingles, siding, piling, ladders, fence posts, stakes, and water tanks and cisterns. By the 1930s, Florida was the leading state in cypress lumber production. In the following years, the cypress industry experienced small rises and falls.
In the 1990s, cypress harvest started to rise again as trees in previously harvested swamps grew to merchantable size. However, these trees have less decay-resistant hardwood than was found in old-growth cypress. Currently, cypress trees are harvested mainly for saw timber and landscape mulch.
Originally cypress mulch was produced using waste wood from sawmills. However the increased demand for mulch has led to an increase in harvesting the smaller pond cypress, as well as other cypress previously thought too small for harvesting.
UF/IFAS Extension does not recommend purchasing cypress mulch for your landscape. Younger trees harvested for mulch do not have the natural pest resistance of old-growth wood, and cypress tress are needed in our swamps where they serve an important ecological function.
Hidden Secrets of Florida WMAs By Peter Kleinhenz
If you have spent more than a couple hours exploring natural Florida, chances are that you’ve had a “wow moment.” Maybe it was that instant when you turned a corner and a view you couldn’t believe unfolded in front of you or when a creature you didn’t expect to see crossed your path. The complex biodiversity and human history of the state ensures that properties encompassing significant swaths of nature contain plenty of “wow” material. Take, for instance, Chassahowitzka Wildlife Management Area.
Cypress Mills along the ST. Johns, Palatka, etc.
The real prize, though, lies far down one of the old logging trams that pierces the heart of the swamp. Over one mile from the nearest road, a true behemoth of a bald cypress grows as it has for hundreds, maybe thousands, of years. For whatever reason, this tree was passed by.
Other unusual features of Chassahowitzka WMA include a spring in the middle of a swamp, one of the largest underwater caverns in the United States and secretive species such as the short-tailed snake and coastal lowland cave crayfish.
Photo by Peter Kleinhenz
short tailed water snake
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The cypress knees serve as Air for the Big Cypress trees
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The Turpintine Mills along the St. Johns. Besides the Pine Tar tree were cut down by volumes,
