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In 1846, David Yulee, a former United States Senator, established a 5,000-acre plantation and sugarcane mill. A group of New England financiers bought most of the riverfront property on the Homosassa River in 1886. The West Coast Development Company purchased the Homosassa area, including thousands of acres, in the late 1920's. The 50-acre site, and surrounding 100 acres, was purchased in the 1940's and operated as a small attraction. In 1964, the Norris Development Company bought property and expanded and promoted Homosassa Springs as "Nature's Own Attraction." From 1978 until 1984, the land exchanged hands under several private ownerships. In December 1984, the Citrus County Commission purchased the attraction to protect it as an environmentally sensitive area. Today, Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park is owned by the State of Florida and managed by the Department of Environmental Protection.