Once upon a time . . . there was a beautiful princess. Isn’t it always that way? But, as with many beautiful princesses before her, being beautiful only caused her trouble! The Devil knew of her beauty and wanted her for his bride. As could be expected, the princess did not want to be the Devil’s wife and so she refused his suit. The Devil, not being one known to follow the rules, decided he was going to take her anyway.
To no one’s surprise, her tribe’s braves weren’t so keen on having the princess stolen! (They probably all had designs on her themselves). The braves put up chase, intent on getting their beautiful princess back. We already know that the Devil doesn’t play by the rules, so as the fleet footed braves drew close, the Devil created a deep sink hole into which the braves fell.
But the braves - being mighty and, well, brave - attempted to escape up the steep sides of the hole, desperate to save their princess. This act of defiance angered the Devil and so, as they fought their way up, he turned the braves into stone.
Even today, when you visit the Devil’s Millhopper, you can see the tears of the braves flowing from the rock and down the slopes of the sink hole as they cry for the loss of their beautiful princess.
That, my friend, is how Devil’s Millhopper came to be.
While not the most impressive Florida state park I’ve visited, I was drawn in by the mythology of the place. Is there a scientific explanation for sinkholes? Of course!
But there’s something amazing about a myth that makes a place magical.
What a funny story to just name a sink hole. Legends are Legends!!