A Settled Community Long Before the Europeans Came
Native Americans are thought to have settled here around 200 B.C. The earliest known inhabitants were pre-Columbian mound builders, drawn by the Crystal River, which they called “Wewa-hi-i-aca”
(clean or shining water), the ideal climate, and plentiful game and shellfish. They established a ceremonial and trade center that became one of the longest, continuously occupied sites in Florida from about 200 B.C. to 1400 A.D. An estimated 7,500 Indians traveled to the Crystal River site every year to bury their dead and exchange ritual objects. These were Citrus County’s first tourists.
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