Old Miakka (or Old Myakka) is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

Sarasota County Sarasota County is a county located in Southwest Florida. At the 2020 US census, the population was 434,006. Its county seat is Sarasota and its largest city is North Port. Sarasota County is part of the North Port–Bradenton–Sarasota, F ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. 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 Bradenton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698, up from 49,546 at the 2010 census. It is a principal city in the Sarasota metropolitan area. Dow ...

–

Sarasota Sarasota () is a city in and the county seat of Sarasota County, Florida, United States. It is located in Southwest Florida, the southern end of the Tampa Bay area, and north of Fort Myers and Punta Gorda. Its official limits include Sarasota Ba ...

Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

The area was named after the

Myakka River The Myakka River is a river in southwestern Florida. It arises near the Hardee County, Florida, Hardee-Manatee County, Florida, Manatee county line and flows southwest and then southeast through Manatee, Sarasota County, Florida, Sarasota and Cha ...

which a local group of people of either

Seminole The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, ...

(

Muscogee The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek or just Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language; English: ), are a group of related Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands Here they waged war again ...

speaking) or

Miccosukee The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians ( /ˌmɪkəˈsuki/, MIH-kə-SOO-kee) is a federally recognized Native American tribe in the U.S. state of Florida. Together with the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma and the Seminole Tribe of Florida, it is one of ...

(

Hitchiti Hitchiti ( ) was a tribal town in what is now the Southeast United States. It was one of several towns whose people spoke the Hitchiti language. It was first known as part of the Apalachicola Province, an association of tribal towns along the ...

speaking) descent called the "Miarca River." The name Miakka first appeared on maps in 1845. The U.S. Post Office for Miakka was first registered in 1879 by Augustus M. Wilson. Th
Old Miakka United Methodist Church
was built in 1886 on land donated by William Rawls and Augustus M. Wilson. There is a historical marker located at the church erected by the Sarasota County Historical Commission in 1982. 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. The Miakka community was originally part of Hillsborough County (1834), then subsequently

Manatee County Manatee County is a county in the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 399,710. Manatee County is part of the North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its county seat and largest ci ...

(1855) and finally

(1921).

Place-name spelling

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 Myakka River State Park is a Florida State Park, that is located east of Interstate 75 in Sarasota County and a portion of southeastern Manatee County on the Atlantic coastal plain. This state park consists of , making it one of the state's l ...

which was known as ''Miakka'' Valley State Forest & Park. The letter explains Hanson's attempt to discover the history and origin of the various spellings. The

United States Board on Geographic Names The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) is a Federal government of the United States, federal body operating under the United States Secretary of the Interior. The purpose of the board is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geogr ...

(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." The ruling acknowledged the spelling ''Miakka'' to be found on various official documents such as the USGS state maps,

Rand McNally Rand McNally is an American technology and publishing company that provides mapping software and hardware for consumer electronics, commercial transportation, and education markets. The company is headquartered in Rosemont, Illinois with a di ...

Atlas An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of world map, maps of Earth or of a continent or region of Earth. Advances in astronomy have also resulted in atlases of the celestial sphere or of other planets. Atlases have traditio ...

, and Official State Road Map.

References

{{authority control Sarasota metropolitan area Census-designated places in Sarasota County, Florida