On May 22, 1837, Lieutenant Peyton, with a command of twenty men and four Creek Indians, set out from Fort Mellon to explore the little known upper reaches of the St Johns River. They camped that night on what is now aptly known as Bird Island in Lake Jessup. One hundred and sixty four years later to the day, four members of Seminole Audubon Society, accompanied by two biologists from St Johns River Water Management District, surveyed birds on the island, finding an amazing 512 wading birds.
History. There is a plaque at Clifton Springs, the Seminole County Natural Lands property on the South Lake Jesup shore, recording the fact that naturalists John and William Bartram camped there during their excursion up the St Johns River in 1765-66. Scientists distinguished Clifton Springs again in this century as the location where an endemic fish (Fundulus bartrami) and snail (Aphaostracon theiocrenetus) were first identified. There was reportedly an indigo plantation on the shores of the lake in the late eighteenth century.
However, it appears that little was known of the area, and the territory was largely left to the Indians and escaped slaves until its “rediscovery’ in 1837. Lieutenant R H Peyton of the Second Artillery was sent by Colonel Harney to make a map of the area upstream of Lake Monroe. His report, from Fort Mellon, May 24, 1837 states:
“Col: I have the honor to report that in obedience to your orders I started on the morning of the 22nd of May, 1837, with a command of 20 men and four friendly Creek Indians, to explore the St Johns River of which but little was known above Lake Monroe.
After leaving Lake Monroe, the river pursues a serpentine course…. winding through marshes and occasional live oak and cabbage palm hammocks…. about 11 miles, when it reaches a large lake…. it gradually expanded into a noble sheet of water and stretched in a southwest direction…. the whole length being 13 miles. In honor of our commanding Gen. I have called this Lake Jesup. In the middle is a beautiful island of a circular form containing about 200 acres covered with a high rank grass; in the center of this we observed a very picturesque clump of cabbage trees which were filled with nests of white heron, blue crane and a red bird with a spoon bill called by the Indians “hololo”. From its position and shape I have called this “Circle Island”.
