Nocoroco | |
 | |
  | |
| Nearest city | Ormond Beach, Florida |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 29°21′7″N81°5′14″W / 29.35194°N 81.08722°W |
| NRHP reference No. | 73000605 [1] |
| Added to NRHP | May 7, 1973 |
Nocoroco is the site of a Timucuan village located on the Tomoka River, in Tomoka State Park. [2] The park is located two or three miles north of Ormond Beach, Florida on North Beach Street. [3] [4]
Approximately seven thousand years ago, during the Archaic Period, indigenous people found plentiful fish and shellfish at this site in the shelter of a barrier island to the east. [5] [6] The site was inhabited approximately twelve hundred years ago by the Timucuans, whose descendants were discovered there by Europeans. Alvaro Mexia visited Nocoroco in 1605, just as European acculturation had begun. Mexia's expedition explored down the east coast of Florida at the behest of the Spanish governor. [7] This late St. Johns period site represents one of the last Timucuan strongholds in northeastern Florida. The only traces of these native peoples are the shell middens, which help modern archaeologists document their lives. [6]
The British occupation began in 1763 when Great Britain received Florida from Spain in a trade. [8] The site of the village of Nocoroco was part of a British land-grant called Mt. Oswald, held by Richard Oswald. His plantation grew indigo and rice. [9] After its return to the Spanish in 1783, the area was likely cultivated until many plantations were destroyed near the beginning of the Second Seminole War in 1835. [5] [10]
The midden at Nocoroco is mainly composed largely of a black earth accumulation, with pockets of shell and a few larger shell accumulations. [11] The midden differs from most common middens in the region, which are mostly shell. Shell types include Crassostrea virginica , Mercenaria mercenaria , Tagelus plebeius, Arca sp., Donax variabilis , Geukensia demissa , Sinistrofulgur perversum , and Hexaplex fulvescens . [11] Animal bones were not preserved well and typically were quite fragmentary. [11] Among mammals, the most prevalent source of food seems to have been deer, but other types of bones, such as fish, turtle and alligator remains, were all present. [11]
On May 7, 1973, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places [7] as a site significant for its information potential in the area of aboriginal history. [2]
Today the site of the village of Nocoroco is marked by a large fountain sculpture, called the "Tomokie Fountain", created by Frederick Dana Marsh. [2] [7] [12] The fountain is Marsh's artistic interpretation of the legend of Tomokie, whose arrogance in drinking from a sacred spring was paid for with his life and those of all his band. [12] According to information at the site, references to the legend date back more than one hundred years. [12]
Volusia County is a county located in the east-central part of the U.S. state of Florida between the St. Johns River and the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2020 census, the county was home to 553,543 people, an increase of 11.9% from the 2010 census. It was founded on December 29, 1854, from part of Orange County, and was named for the community of Volusia, located in northwestern Volusia County. Its first county seat was Enterprise. Since 1887, its county seat has been DeLand.
Ormond Beach is a city in Volusia County, Florida, United States. The population was 43,080 at the 2020 census. Ormond Beach lies directly north of Daytona Beach and is a principal city of the Deltona–Daytona Beach–Ormond Beach, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is known as the birthplace of speed, as early adopters of motorized cars flocked to its hard-packed beaches for yearlong entertainment, since paved roads were not yet commonplace. Ormond Beach lies in Central Eastern Florida.
Ormond-by-the-Sea is a census-designated place and an unincorporated town in Volusia County, Florida, United States. The population was 7,312 as of the 2020 census, a decrease from 7,406 in the 2010 census.
State Road 5A (SR 5A), also known as Nova Road, is a north–south highway that begins and ends at U.S. Highway 1 or US 1, in Port Orange and Ormond Beach, respectively. It is noted that when 5A was built, it was used more as a bypass or beltway, but in recent years with growth reaching far beyond SR 5A, it sees more use as a major thoroughfare that passes through the heart of the region.
State Road 40 is a 91.8-mile-long (147.7 km) east–west highway across northern and east-central Florida, running from U.S. Highway 41 (US 41) in Rainbow Lakes Estates eastward through Ocala over the Ocklawaha River and through the heart of the Ocala National Forest to SR A1A in Ormond Beach. Names of the road include Silver Springs Boulevard in Ocala, Fort Brooks Road from Silver Springs through Astor, Butler Road in Astor, and Granada Boulevard in Ormond Beach. Former sections in Ormond Beach are named "Old Tomoka Road" and "Old Tomoka Avenue."
The Halifax River is part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, located in northeast Volusia County, Florida. The waterway was originally known as the North Mosquito River, but was renamed after George Montagu-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax, during the British occupation of Florida (1763–1784).
Tomoka State Park is an 2,000-acre (8.1 km2) Florida State Park located along the Tomoka River, three miles (5 km) north of Ormond Beach on North Beach Street.
Turtle Mound is a prehistoric archaeological site located 9 miles (14 km) south of New Smyrna Beach, Florida, on State Road A1A. On September 29, 1970, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. It is the largest shell midden on the mainland United States, with an approximate height of 50 feet (15 m). The mound extends for over 600 feet (180 m) along the Indian River shoreline and contains over 35,000 cubic yards (27,000 m3) of shells. Turtle Mound was estimated to be 75 feet (23 m) high before it was reduced by shellrock mining in the 19th and 20th centuries. Because it is visible seven miles out at sea, early Spanish explorers and subsequent mariners used the large mound as a landmark for coastal navigation. Today, the site is owned and managed by the National Park Service as part of Canaveral National Seashore.
The Spruce Creek Mound Complex is a prehistoric and early historic archeological site in Port Orange, Florida. The mound complex, major earthworks built out of earth and shell middens, was constructed by ancient indigenous peoples. It is located near Port Orange, on the southwest bank of Spruce Creek. On December 3, 1990, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
The New Smyrna Sugar Mill Ruins is a historic site in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, at 600 Old Mission Road, one mile west of the Intracoastal Waterway. On August 12, 1970, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
The Anderson–Price Memorial Library Building is a historic library in Ormond Beach, Florida, United States. It is located at 42 North Beach Street, and was named for the City of Ormond Beach's co-founders John Anderson and Joseph D. Price. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
The Ormond Hotel was a historic hotel in Ormond Beach, Florida, United States. It was located at 15 East Granada Boulevard.
The Dix House is a historic home in Ormond Beach, Florida, United States. On September 6, 1989, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
Rowallan is a historic site in Ormond Beach, Florida, United States. It is located at 253 John Anderson Highway. On October 6, 1988, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Volusia County, Florida.
The Tomoka River is a north-flowing river in Volusia County, Florida, United States. It drains an area of about 110 square miles (280 km2) and has a length of 19.6 miles (31.5 km).
Ormond Mound is a Pre-Columbian burial mound of the St. Johns culture, in Ormond Beach, Volusia County, Florida, US.
Alvaro Mexia was a 17th-century Spanish explorer and cartographer of the east coast of Florida. Mexia was stationed in St Augustine and was given a diplomatic mission to the native populations living south of St. Augustine and in the Cape Canaveral area. This mission resulted in a "Period of Friendship" between the Spanish and the Ais native population.
Three Chimneys Archaeological Site is located at 715 West Granada Boulevard in Ormond Beach, Florida. The three chimneys within the site were part of a sugar-processing plant owned by Richard Oswald, a wealthy Scottish merchant, who owned a nearby plantation throughout the British rule of Florida. That plantation is now on the grounds of Tomoka State Park. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 16, 2010.
Addison Blockhouse Historic State Park is a state park located in Volusia County, Florida. It features the Addison Blockhouse, a small coquina rock ruin that was on a 19th-century plantation and served as a kitchen as well as a fort.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help){{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help){{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help){{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help){{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
