Weeki Wachee is an unincorporated community and former city located in

Hernando County Hernando County is a county located on the west central coast of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 194,515. Its county seat is Brooksville, and its largest community is Spring Hill. Hernando County is incl ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, United States. As of the 2020 census, the community has a total population of 16. The Weeki Wachee Preserve and the

Weeki Wachee Springs Weeki Wachee Springs is a natural tourist attraction located in Weeki Wachee, Florida, where underwater performances by "mermaids," women wearing fish tails as well as other fanciful outfits, can be viewed in an aquarium-like setting in the spring ...

park are located in the area. The park includes water rides, animal shows,

mermaid In folklore, a mermaid is an aquatic creature with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including Europe, Asia, and Africa. Mermaids are sometimes asso ...

costume shows, and

manatee Manatees (family Trichechidae, genus ''Trichechus'') are large, fully aquatic, mostly herbivorous marine mammals sometimes known as sea cows. There are three accepted living species of Trichechidae, representing three of the four living species ...

watching. The communities of Weeki Wachee Gardens and Spring Hill are nearby.

History

Weeki Wachee was founded as a city in 1966 to promote the local mermaid attraction. With fewer than 15 residents, and increased concerns over the city's finances, services, and state park operations, state representative

Blaise Ingoglia Blaise Ingoglia (born November 4, 1970) is an American politician who currently serves as a member of the Florida Senate, representing the 11th district, since 2022. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served in the Florida House of ...

sponsored a bill to dissolve the city, and Governor

Ron DeSantis Ronald Dion DeSantis (; born September 14, 1978) is an American politician serving as the 46th governor of Florida since January 2019. A member of the Republican Party, DeSantis represented Florida's 6th district in the U.S. House of Represe ...

signed it into law in June 2020.

, the county the former city resides in, was responsible for resolving its financial issues. Park operations were not affected.

Geography

The former city boundaries of Weeki Wachee was located in western Hernando County at . Via

U.S. Route 19 U.S. Route 19 (US 19) is a north–south U.S. Highway in the Eastern United States. Despite encroaching Interstate Highways, the route has remained a long-haul road, connecting the Gulf of Mexico with Lake Erie. The highway's southern ...

, it was north of Port Richey and south of Homosassa Springs. Via

Florida State Road 50 State Road 50 (SR 50) runs across the center of the U.S. state of Florida through Orlando, Florida, Orlando, with its termini at State Road 55 (Florida), SR 55 (U.S. Highway 19 (Florida), US 19) at Weeki Wachee, Florida, Weeki Wachee and State Ro ...

, Weeki Wachee was west of Brooksville, the Hernando County seat. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the city had a total area of , of which , or 4.68%, was water.

Demographics

As of the

2000 U.S. Census The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 cen ...

, there were 12 people, five households, and five families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was 11.8 people per square mile (4.5/km). There were five housing units at an average density of 4.9 per square mile (1.9/km). As identified by the census, no one in Weeki Wachee was

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

. All residents were

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

except for one Native American member of the

Little River Band of Ottawa Indians Little River Band of Ottawa Indians ( oj, Gaaching-Ziibi Daawaa Anishinaabe) is a federally recognized Native American tribe of the Odawa people in the United States. It is based in Manistee and Mason counties in northwest Michigan. It was recogn ...

Weeki Wachee Springs

Tourist attraction

, the spring of the Weeki Wachee River, is a Florida tourist attraction where underwater performances by

s — women dressed in fancy outfits with fins about their legs — can be viewed in an aquarium-like setting. The attraction includes a Buccaneer Bay water park, animal shows, and boat rides. General Manager Robyn Anderson was the town's mayor. The park is now a

Florida State Park There are 175 state parks and 9 state trails in the U.S. state of Florida which encompass more than , providing recreational opportunities for both residents and tourists. Almost half of the state parks have an associated local 501(c)(3) non-pr ...

and is owned and managed by the State Parks department.

Deepest naturally formed spring in the United States

From May 22 until August 30, 2007, the discharge level at Weeki Wachee spring dropped to a level that allowed for cave divers to gain effective entry into the cave system at the spring. The

Karst Underwater Research Karst Underwater Research (KUR) is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that specializes in the research and documentation of karst aquifers and their corresponding surface features. KUR members perform a variety of scientific processe ...

team successfully executed exploration dives and the necessary in-water decompression to explore approximately in multiple passages at an average depth of fresh water (ffw) with a maximum depth of ffw.

References

External links

Weeki Wachee Springs
official site
Weeki Wachee Cave System

{{authority control Cities in Hernando County, Florida Cities in the Tampa Bay area Cities in Florida Populated places disestablished in 2020 Former municipalities in Florida