The area where Boca Raton is now located was originally occupied by the Glades culture, a Native American tribe of hunter/gatherers who relocated seasonally and between shellfish sources, distinct from the Tequesta to the south and the Jaega to the north.
What Spanish voyagers called “Boca de Ratones” was originally to the south, in present-day Biscayne Bay in Miami-Dade County. The area of Boca Raton was labeled “Rio Seco”, meaning “Dry River”, during this time. By mistake during the 19th century, mapmakers moved this location to the north and began referring to the city’s lake, today known as Lake Boca Raton, as “Boca Ratone Lagoon” and later “Boca Ratone Sounde.” An inland stream near the lake was later renamed Spanish River, and eventually became part of the Intracoastal Waterway.
When Spain surrendered Florida to Britain in 1763, the remaining Tequestas, along with other Indians who had taken refuge in the Florida Keys, were evacuated to Cuba. In the 1770s, Bernard Romans reported seeing abandoned villages in the area, but no inhabitants.
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