Port Mayaca, Florida facts for kids
Port Mayaca (pronounced port my-ak-kuh) is a small, quiet place in western Martin County, Florida. It sits on the eastern side of Lake Okeechobee, which is a very large lake.
This area was named after the Mayaca Tribe, who lived in Florida a long time ago. Port Mayaca is located where several important roads meet. These include S.W. Kanner Highway (State Road 76) and S.W. Gaines Highway (State Road 15). It is also near the Port Mayaca Lock and Dams on the Okeechobee Waterway. This waterway is also known as the St. Lucie Canal.
Port Mayaca does not have many houses or businesses. Most of them are spread out along the main roads. One important building is Cypress Lodge. For many years, this was the only inn in Port Mayaca. In 2008, Cypress Lodge was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This means it is an important building because of its history.
Port Mayaca's Post Office History
A post office was opened in Port Mayaca on June 7, 1928. This was a place where people could send and receive mail. However, the post office closed down on June 30, 1958. After it closed, mail for Port Mayaca started coming from the Canal Point post office. Canal Point is in the next county over, Palm Beach County. Even today, most mail for Port Mayaca still comes from Canal Point.
Port Mayaca Cemetery: A Place of Remembrance
A few miles east of Port Mayaca is the Port Mayaca Cemetery. This cemetery has a very important and sad history. In September 1928, a very strong hurricane hit Florida. It was a Category 5 hurricane, which is the strongest kind. This storm caused a lot of flooding around Lake Okeechobee. The earthen dikes, which were like walls built to hold back the lake, broke.
Many people living in the area lost their lives because of the storm and the floods. More than 1,600 people could not be identified. The Port Mayaca Cemetery was chosen as the place for their mass burial. This means many people were buried together there.
At first, the cemetery was managed by a group from the nearby cities of Belle Glade, Pahokee, and South Bay. Since 1992, the city of Pahokee has been in charge of the cemetery by itself. It serves as a place to remember those who were lost in the 1928 hurricane.
