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Old Miakka, Florida

Coordinates: 27°18′47″N 82°16′00″W / 27.31306°N 82.26667°W / 27.31306; -82.26667
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Old Miakka, Florida
Census-designated place
Old Myakka
Old Miakka, Florida is located in Florida
Old Miakka, Florida
Old Miakka, Florida
Location within the state of Florida
Coordinates: 27°18′47″N 82°16′00″W / 27.31306°N 82.26667°W / 27.31306; -82.26667[1]
CountryUnited States
StateFlorida
CountySarasota
Elevation
49 ft (15 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total
1,743
Time zoneUTC−05:00 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−04:00 (EDT)
ZIP code
34240
Area code941
FIPS code12-51345[1]
GNIS feature ID294873
[1]

Old Miakka (or Old Myakka) is a census-designated place in Sarasota County, Florida, United States. It is located at the bend of County Road 780, where it changes from running north–south to east–west. The population was 1,743 at the 2020 census. The community is part of the North Port–Bradenton–Sarasota, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

[edit]

The area was named after the Myakka River which a local group of people of either Seminole (Muscogee speaking) or Miccosukee (Hitchiti speaking) descent called the "Miarca River."[citation needed]

The name Miakka first appeared on maps in 1845.[citation needed]

The U.S. Post Office for Miakka was first registered in 1879 by Augustus M. Wilson.[2][3]

The Old Miakka United Methodist Church was built in 1886 on land donated by William Rawls and Augustus M. Wilson.[4] There is a historical marker located at the church erected by the Sarasota County Historical Commission in 1982.[5]

The Old Miakka School was constructed in 1914. There is a historical marker located at the schoolhouse erected by the Sarasota County Historical Commission in 1987.[6]

The Miakka community was originally part of Hillsborough County (1834), then subsequently Manatee County (1855) and finally Sarasota County (1921).

Place-name spelling

[edit]

A letter written in 1940 by W. Stanley Hanson of the Seminole Indian Association to Claude E. Ragan, Project Superintendent of the newly formed Myakka River State Park which was known as Miakka Valley State Forest & Park.[7] The letter explains Hanson's attempt to discover the history and origin of the various spellings.[8][additional citation(s) needed]

The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) ruled in December 1943 on the usage of "Old Myakka" for the spelling of the geographical name as it was "both officially and locally preferred to help distinguish it from Myakka City and vice versa."[9][10]

The ruling acknowledged the spelling Miakka to be found on various official documents such as the USGS state maps, Rand McNally Atlas, and Official State Road Map.[7]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c "Old Miakka". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. October 19, 1979. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
  2. ^ Matthews, Janet Snyder (1983). Edge of Wilderness: A Settlement History of Manatee River and Sarasota Bay. Sarasota, Florida: Coastal Press. p. 306. ISBN 0-914381-00-8.
  3. ^ "U.S. Post Office History". Jim Forte's Postal History.
  4. ^ "Myakka Methodist Episcopal Church, South". State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory. Works Progress Administration, Historical Records Survey. 1887. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  5. ^ "Miakka Historical Marker". www.hmdb.org. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  6. ^ "Old Miakka School Historical Marker". www.hmdb.org. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  7. ^ a b "Official Road Map of Florida" (PDF) (Map). Florida Department of Transportation. State Roads Department. January 1939. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
  8. ^ "Miakka or Myakka?". Crowley Museum & Nature Center. July 10, 2017. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
  9. ^ "Case Study". U.S. Board on Geographic Names. December 4, 1943. Retrieved August 8, 2019.
  10. ^ "USGS".
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