No doubt Native Americans took advantage of the
natural bounty of the Suwannee and the neighboring forest. By
around 7500 BC the Native American population increased, and people
began to settle, at least for a time, along rivers and lakes. They
fished, gathered freshwater snails, and hunted deer. Within Andrews
on the bluff above the Suwannee are the remains of an ancient
hunting and fishing camp. When Spanish explorer Narvarez crossed
the Suwannee thousands of years later, his men called it "River of
the Deer." Later, Indians escaping to Florida from other parts of
the Southeast named it "Suwani," meaning "echo river" in Creek.
Sound echoes from the river's limestone bluffs, especially when the
water is low.
Postcard, 1936 - Florida Photo Archives
Ferry on the Suwannee ca 1882 - Florida Photo Archives
By the 1830s the tranquil, tree-lined Suwannee
became an important navigation route. Steamboats carried lumber to
Cedar Key for transport by steamship to Europe and the Northeast.
Much of the virgin cypress in the Suwannee floodplain was harvested
in the early 1900s. Furrows created by "snaking" huge cypress logs
are still visible along the banks of the Suwannee.
In the early part of the 1900s what was later to
become Andrews was subject to a wide range of uncontrolled uses,
including open range livestock grazing. Range hogs readily adapted
to the habitat and are still present on Andrews today as hunters
rediscover each fall.
In 1945 the Andrews family purchased the area. They
managed the land for outdoor recreation and were careful to protect
natural resources. Limited weekend hunts were held for deer,
turkey, and squirrel, and no mining or significant timber harvest
occurred. The Andrews family created four, five-acre clearings in
the upland hardwoods and scattered roadside openings.
In the late 1970s the deer density approached one
deer per ten acres, which resulted in severe over-browsing of
understory vegetation and a decline in the physical condition of
the deer. Doe harvest was initiated in the early 1980s to reduce
the population and to achieve a more balanced sex ratio.
The state purchased the land in 1985 through the
Save Our Rivers and Conservation and Recreation Lands programs.