The History of the Wekiva River: 1880-1980

Introduction (Home)

How the Wekiva Got its Name

Rock Springs and Wekiva Springs in the Twenties

The 60's, 70's and the Wekiva State Park

Pollution and the Buffer Zone 

Bibliography

One of the ongoing predicaments for the river is just how to spell the river’s name, Wekiva or Wekiwa. According to some, Wekiwa is an Indian word that means either “clean/white water”  or “spring of water.”  An article written in the early nineteen seventies by an Ormund Powers discusses this predicament.  He mentions that earlier maps and books published during 1927 say the spelling is “Wekiwa” as it indeed appears in 1949.  However, in 1961 an official road map called it “Wekiva,” while the next year it was again called “Wekiwa.”  Other sources dated after 1963 call it “Wekiva.”   Today “Wekiva” is the widely accepted name of the river while “Wekiwa” is the official name for the springs which were formerly known as Clay Springs.