Paynes Prairie

This is our Alachua Savannah as drawn by William Bartram in 1973.

Right now it is the home to thousands of whooping cranes and sandhill cranes. Can you see them? Me neither. We were not at the right spot. Just wait.

A Seminole Tribe lived here in the 1700's.


Now it is called the Gator Nation. Go figure. Paynes Prairie was named after the Chief Ahaya the Cowkeepers' son Payne. Back in the olden days there used to be steamboats on this river. I have my trunk packed and I waited all day but the steamboat never came.

Spanish moss was everywhere. It gave a Gothic feel to the wilderness. Although Spanish moss lives on the air and not the tree, it does grow so thick that the sunlight cannot get to the tree to allow it to grow to its full potential. I think some of our school children have Spanish moss growing on them.