WEST VOLUSIA AND THE ST

WEST VOLUSIA AND THE ST. JOHNS RIVER
- A 15,000-YEAR LOVE AFFAIR -

- 1 -

First and always, there is the River.

Anybody who wants to get to know the West Volusia-DeLand area, must first learn something about the River. It winds for almost 300 miles through eastern Florida. Unlike most rivers of the United States, this one runs from south to north. That’s because the swamplands in Brevard County, where the river originates, are slightly higher above sea level than Jacksonville, where the river empties into the Atlantic Ocean.

West Volusia is in the middle of the River’s course. The water is wide and deep, allowing for boat traffic ranging from tugs pushing huge oil barges to canoes paddled by sightseers. The coffee brown color of the water comes from the amount of vegetation in the rich loam at its bottom.

The River’s gone by many names -- Il-la-ka, Rio de Corrientes, Riviere de Mai, Rio de San Mateo, Rio de San Juan, and St. Johns to list a few. Some of its names are lost, along with the languages of the people who first swam and fished in it, and hunted and lived along its banks. But, by whatever name it’s called, the River always has been the economic backbone and the emotional heart of what now is called the DeLand-West Volusia area.

And it’s been that way for roughly 15,000 years. There’s no written record to show what went on during most of that time. Recorded history of the area begins only in 1513, when the Spanish arrived in Florida. But that represents only about 3 percent of the time that people have been living in West Volusia.