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Ochlockonee River
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Ochlockonee River
The Ochlockonee River ( /oʊˈklɒknɪ/ o-KLOK-nee) is a fast running river, except where it has been dammed to form Lake Talquin in Florida, originating in Georgia and flowing for 206 miles (332 km) before terminating in Florida.
The name is from the Hitchiti language words for yellow river. The Ochlockonee originates south of the town of Sylvester in Worth County in southwest Georgia and empties into Ochlockonee Bay and then Apalachee Bay in Florida.
The river forms the western boundaries of Leon County and Wakulla County and eastern boundaries of Gadsden County, Liberty County, and Franklin County in Florida. It flows through the Red Hills, the Jackson Bluff Dam, Talquin State Forest, Lake Talquin State Park and the Apalachicola National Forest, and past Ochlockonee River State Park, where it is tidally influenced and a mixture of fresh, brackish, and salt water, on the way to its terminus in Ochlockonee Bay, which then empties into Apalachee Bay, with tidal influences extending upstream over 15 miles (24 km) from the river's mouth.
When the Spanish arrived in northern Florida, the Ochlockonee River formed the western boundary of their Apalachee Province. Late 17th-century Spanish documents refer to the river as Claraquachine and Amarillo (Spanish for "yellow"). A 1716 Spanish document called it Rio de Lagna (lagna is probably Apalachee for "yellow"). An English map from 1720 identifies it as the Yellow River. A 1778 map spells the river's name "Okalockney", while one from 1856 has it as "Oklokonee". The modern name probably derives from the Hitchiti/Mikasuki Oki (water) and Lagana (yellow).
From 1839 to 1842, Fort Virginia Braden was established on the river located at Fort Braden in Florida. The fort was named after the commander's wife who died of yellow fever.
The Ochlockonee River saw action during the Civil War. On 15 July 1863, the screw steamer gunboat USS Stars and Stripes and wooden side-wheel steam ferryboat USS Somerset attacked the salt works at Mashes Sands. On 29 December 1863, Stars and Stripes sank the blockade-running schooner Caroline Gertrude, aground on the sandbar at the mouth of the Ochlockonee. Stars and Stripes also captured the blockade-running steamer Laura off the Ochlockonee on 18 January 1864. On 19 and 20 October 1864, Stars and Stripes destroyed an extensive Confederate fishery at Mashes Island and captured the troops stationed there as guards.[self-published source?]
In 1927 the Jackson Bluff Dam was constructed on the Ochlockonee River to produce hydroelectric power. The waters held back by the dam formed Lake Talquin.
The Ochlockonee River corridor is home to many threatened fish, wildlife and plant species. It has been designated under the State of Florida's Outstanding Florida Waters program and has been identified by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission as a Strategic Habitat Conservation Area.
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Ochlockonee River
The Ochlockonee River ( /oʊˈklɒknɪ/ o-KLOK-nee) is a fast running river, except where it has been dammed to form Lake Talquin in Florida, originating in Georgia and flowing for 206 miles (332 km) before terminating in Florida.
The name is from the Hitchiti language words for yellow river. The Ochlockonee originates south of the town of Sylvester in Worth County in southwest Georgia and empties into Ochlockonee Bay and then Apalachee Bay in Florida.
The river forms the western boundaries of Leon County and Wakulla County and eastern boundaries of Gadsden County, Liberty County, and Franklin County in Florida. It flows through the Red Hills, the Jackson Bluff Dam, Talquin State Forest, Lake Talquin State Park and the Apalachicola National Forest, and past Ochlockonee River State Park, where it is tidally influenced and a mixture of fresh, brackish, and salt water, on the way to its terminus in Ochlockonee Bay, which then empties into Apalachee Bay, with tidal influences extending upstream over 15 miles (24 km) from the river's mouth.
When the Spanish arrived in northern Florida, the Ochlockonee River formed the western boundary of their Apalachee Province. Late 17th-century Spanish documents refer to the river as Claraquachine and Amarillo (Spanish for "yellow"). A 1716 Spanish document called it Rio de Lagna (lagna is probably Apalachee for "yellow"). An English map from 1720 identifies it as the Yellow River. A 1778 map spells the river's name "Okalockney", while one from 1856 has it as "Oklokonee". The modern name probably derives from the Hitchiti/Mikasuki Oki (water) and Lagana (yellow).
From 1839 to 1842, Fort Virginia Braden was established on the river located at Fort Braden in Florida. The fort was named after the commander's wife who died of yellow fever.
The Ochlockonee River saw action during the Civil War. On 15 July 1863, the screw steamer gunboat USS Stars and Stripes and wooden side-wheel steam ferryboat USS Somerset attacked the salt works at Mashes Sands. On 29 December 1863, Stars and Stripes sank the blockade-running schooner Caroline Gertrude, aground on the sandbar at the mouth of the Ochlockonee. Stars and Stripes also captured the blockade-running steamer Laura off the Ochlockonee on 18 January 1864. On 19 and 20 October 1864, Stars and Stripes destroyed an extensive Confederate fishery at Mashes Island and captured the troops stationed there as guards.[self-published source?]
In 1927 the Jackson Bluff Dam was constructed on the Ochlockonee River to produce hydroelectric power. The waters held back by the dam formed Lake Talquin.
The Ochlockonee River corridor is home to many threatened fish, wildlife and plant species. It has been designated under the State of Florida's Outstanding Florida Waters program and has been identified by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission as a Strategic Habitat Conservation Area.
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