Taylor County, Florida
The story of Steinhatchee
Everything below is a single verifiable claim with a citation attached. Where the record is a local legend rather than a document, it says so.
- Bay scallop season: June to September
- February — Fiddler Crab Festival
founding
How it started
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Steinhatchee grew where the river meets the Gulf. Indians, explorers, Civil War soldiers, sponge divers and commercial fishermen all gathered here in turn, drawn by the river, Deadman's Bay and the Gulf beyond.
etymology
How it got its name
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The name comes from the Native American 'esteen-hatchee', meaning river of man.
industry
What it lived on
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Commercial fishing built the village and still sustains it: many locals continue to ply the Gulf for their livelihood.
claim to fame
What it is known for
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Steinhatchee is a bay-scalloping town. The season runs across high summer - in 2019 it ran from 15 June to 10 September - when the shallow flats fill with families working the grass beds by hand.
landmark
What still stands
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Deadman's Bay, the shallow Gulf embayment at the river's mouth that gives the village its scallop grounds and its fishing.
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The Steinhatchee River itself, with the open Gulf just 2.5 miles downstream.