Port Mayaca, Florida
Encyclopedia
Martin County, Florida
Martin County is a county in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 126,731. The U.S. Census Bureau 2008 estimate for the county is 138,660. Its county seat is Stuart, Florida.- History :...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is on the eastern side of Lake Okeechobee
Lake Okeechobee
Lake Okeechobee , locally referred to as The Lake or The Big O, is the largest freshwater lake in the state of Florida. It is the seventh largest freshwater lake in the United States and the second largest freshwater lake contained entirely within the lower 48 states...
. Named for the Mayaca Tribe
Mayaca (tribe)
Mayaca was the name used by the Spanish to refer to an Indian tribe in central Florida, to the principal village of that tribe and to the chief of that village in the 1560s. The Mayacas occupied an area in the upper St. Johns River valley just to the south of Lake George...
, Port Mayaca is centered just south of the Port Mayaca Lock and Dam
Port Mayaca Lock and Dam
The Port Mayaca Lock is a navigable lock and dam on the Okeechobee Waterway , adjacent to U.S. Route 441 and U.S. Route 98 at Canal Point, in Martin County, Florida, United States....
s on the Okeechobee Waterway (St. Lucie Canal) at the intersection of S.W. Kanner Highway, {State Road 76), and S.W. Gaines Highway, (State Road 15, which is signed as U.S. Route 441 and U.S. Route 98). There are a few houses and businesses at this intersection but most are strung out north and south along Gaines Highway or east along Kanner Highway. In November 2008, Cypress Lodge
Cypress Lodge
Cypress Lodge is an historic two-story frame country inn located at 18681 SW Conners Highway in Port Mayaca, Florida, United States. It was owned by Bessemer Properties and operated for many years by Paul Hoenshel, his wife Amy Hoenshel and their daughter, Mary Louise Hoenshel Smith.On November 12,...
, for many years the only inn in Port Mayaca, was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. Port Mayaca is pronounced port my-ak-kuh.
Post office
The Port Mayaca post office was established on June 7, 1928, and discontinued on June 30, 1958, after which time mail went to the Canal PointCanal Point, Florida
The unincorporated community of Canal Point is a census-designated place in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population was 525 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Canal Point is located at ....
post office in neighboring Palm Beach County
Palm Beach County, Florida
Palm Beach County is the largest county in the state of Florida in total area, and third in population. As of 2010, the county's estimated population was 1,320,134, making it the twenty-eighth most populous in the United States...
. Mail delivery for most of Port Mayaca continues to come from Canal Point.
Port Mayaca Cemetery
Located a few miles east of this intersection is the Port Mayaca Cemetery which was chosen in 1928 as the site for the mass burial of over 1,600 unidentified people who lost their lives in western Palm Beach County as the result of an unnamed Category 5 hurricane1928 Okeechobee Hurricane
The Okeechobee hurricane, or San Felipe Segundo hurricane, was a deadly hurricane that struck the Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, and Florida in September of the 1928 Atlantic hurricane season...
in September, 1928 and the flooding that ensued after the earthen dikes surrounding Lake Okeechobee collapsed. Originally operated by a trust set up by the cities of Belle Glade
Belle Glade, Florida
Belle Glade is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida on the southeastern shore of Lake Okeechobee. The population was 14,906 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S Census estimates of 2007, the city had a population of 16,739....
, Pahokee
Pahokee, Florida
Pahokee is a city located on the shore of Lake Okeechobee in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population was 5,985 at the 2000 census. As of 2007, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 6,459. Culturally, Pahokee is associated with the Florida Heartland, although...
and South Bay
South Bay, Florida
South Bay is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is the westernmost municipality in the South Florida metropolitan area. The population was 3,859 at the 2000 census. As of 2007, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 4,506...
, the cemetery has been operated since 1992 by the city of Pahokee alone.
See also
- 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane1928 Okeechobee HurricaneThe Okeechobee hurricane, or San Felipe Segundo hurricane, was a deadly hurricane that struck the Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, and Florida in September of the 1928 Atlantic hurricane season...
- Mayaca (tribe)Mayaca (tribe)Mayaca was the name used by the Spanish to refer to an Indian tribe in central Florida, to the principal village of that tribe and to the chief of that village in the 1560s. The Mayacas occupied an area in the upper St. Johns River valley just to the south of Lake George...
- Myakka City, FloridaMyakka City, FloridaMyakka City is an unincorporated community in southeastern Manatee County, Florida, United States. It lies along State Road 70 southeast of the city of Bradenton, the county seat of Manatee County. Its elevation is , and it is located at...
, a settlement in eastern Manatee County which uses a variant spelling of the name.