The name Ocklawaha, meaning “Dark Water,” was suggested by the State Regent because
the river of that name was near the towns of Eustis, Tavares, and Mt. Dora.
Ocklawaha was an Indian Brave of the Kanipah Tribe. His chief village was, according to tradition, near
where the waters of Silver Springs join the darker stream, whose crooked way winds 275 miles
before its junction with the St. John’s.
In 1845 the name of Mosquito County, which comprised a large section of east-central Florida,
was changed to Orange County. Lake County was one of several counties formed from the original Orange County in 1887. Early settlers and United States troops built a number of small log forts throughout peninsula Florida
prior to and during the Seminole Indian War. Two of these sites are within Lake County:
Fort Butler on the St. Johns River near the town of Astor, and Fort Mason near Umatilla.
Government roads connected Fort Butler with Fort Dade to the south and with Fort Mason and
Fort King to the northwest.
Astor was also the terminus of the first railroad in this section, a narrow gauge road built from Astor to Fort Mason.