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Volusia, Florida
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Volusia, Florida
Volusia (/vəˈluːʃə/, və-LOO-shə) is an unincorporated community in Volusia County, Florida, United States, on the eastern shore of the St. Johns River. It is about three miles south of Lake George and across the river from the town of Astor in Lake County. Established by Spanish missionaries, Volusia is one of the oldest European settlements in Florida. The main route through the town is State Road 40, which crosses the St. Johns on the Astor Bridge.
Volusia County takes its name from the community of Volusia, which was named at least as early as 1815. The site of the community was an established indigenous settlement in 1558 when the Mayaca people were first encountered by Spanish explorers. Since then, it has been the site of forts established by the Spanish, British and Americans, in addition to related trading posts. These used the St. Johns River as the major transportation route. During the 1830s, it was the site of conflicts with the Seminole people as the United States government tried to force them to remove to Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River, during Florida's tumultuous beginnings.
The indigenous Mayaca people inhabited much of the area now known as Volusia County along the St. Johns River. A settlement just south of current-day Lake George was known as Maiaca (or Mayaca) and it was likely the largest of the Mayaca villages. Historical sources frequently refer to the native Timucua as having inhabited large areas of Florida, including areas along the St. Johns river. However, other sources posit that the Mayaca were a distinct group of people with their own language, customs and settlements. Alliances were formed among smaller native groups. The village of Mayaca (also spelled Mayarca) was identified as belonging to the Outina confederation at one point, and being allied with the Saltwater Timucua at another.
According to Spanish Franciscan missionary Francisco de Ayeta in his 1691 deposition, the Mayaca lived south of Freshwater Timucua territory. He described them as "being so wild a nation and of no sense at all, who in no way want to make a village, nor even plant for their substenance, nor ever live in a determined place."[citation needed]
The first European documentation of present-day Volusia was by Hernando de Escalante Fontaneda, who in memoirs covering the period of 1558-1575, mentions Mayaca.
In 1566, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés made a voyage up the St. Johns river to meet with principal caciques (chiefs). He recorded encountering the village of a cacique known as Macoya. This is believed to be the same site as the Mayaca mission noted in Spanish records of the early 17th century, and thus historic Volusia. After the explorer ventured a little farther up river, Macoya threatened Menéndez with war unless he turned back.
By about 1602, Franciscan missionaries had established a church at Mayaca and reported 100 natives there who had not yet been baptized. The general consensus among the Spanish at the time was that the Mayaca were a distinct people from the (Sweetwater) Timucua, although the occupied part of the territory traditionally identified as Timucuan.
The mission of San Salvador de Mayaca appeared on a list of missions in 1655. In 1657, the mission church of San Salvador de Mayaca was constructed on the existing shell mounds of the Mayaca people, in what is present-day Volusia.
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Volusia, Florida
Volusia (/vəˈluːʃə/, və-LOO-shə) is an unincorporated community in Volusia County, Florida, United States, on the eastern shore of the St. Johns River. It is about three miles south of Lake George and across the river from the town of Astor in Lake County. Established by Spanish missionaries, Volusia is one of the oldest European settlements in Florida. The main route through the town is State Road 40, which crosses the St. Johns on the Astor Bridge.
Volusia County takes its name from the community of Volusia, which was named at least as early as 1815. The site of the community was an established indigenous settlement in 1558 when the Mayaca people were first encountered by Spanish explorers. Since then, it has been the site of forts established by the Spanish, British and Americans, in addition to related trading posts. These used the St. Johns River as the major transportation route. During the 1830s, it was the site of conflicts with the Seminole people as the United States government tried to force them to remove to Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River, during Florida's tumultuous beginnings.
The indigenous Mayaca people inhabited much of the area now known as Volusia County along the St. Johns River. A settlement just south of current-day Lake George was known as Maiaca (or Mayaca) and it was likely the largest of the Mayaca villages. Historical sources frequently refer to the native Timucua as having inhabited large areas of Florida, including areas along the St. Johns river. However, other sources posit that the Mayaca were a distinct group of people with their own language, customs and settlements. Alliances were formed among smaller native groups. The village of Mayaca (also spelled Mayarca) was identified as belonging to the Outina confederation at one point, and being allied with the Saltwater Timucua at another.
According to Spanish Franciscan missionary Francisco de Ayeta in his 1691 deposition, the Mayaca lived south of Freshwater Timucua territory. He described them as "being so wild a nation and of no sense at all, who in no way want to make a village, nor even plant for their substenance, nor ever live in a determined place."[citation needed]
The first European documentation of present-day Volusia was by Hernando de Escalante Fontaneda, who in memoirs covering the period of 1558-1575, mentions Mayaca.
In 1566, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés made a voyage up the St. Johns river to meet with principal caciques (chiefs). He recorded encountering the village of a cacique known as Macoya. This is believed to be the same site as the Mayaca mission noted in Spanish records of the early 17th century, and thus historic Volusia. After the explorer ventured a little farther up river, Macoya threatened Menéndez with war unless he turned back.
By about 1602, Franciscan missionaries had established a church at Mayaca and reported 100 natives there who had not yet been baptized. The general consensus among the Spanish at the time was that the Mayaca were a distinct people from the (Sweetwater) Timucua, although the occupied part of the territory traditionally identified as Timucuan.
The mission of San Salvador de Mayaca appeared on a list of missions in 1655. In 1657, the mission church of San Salvador de Mayaca was constructed on the existing shell mounds of the Mayaca people, in what is present-day Volusia.
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