The interior of Central Florida opened for settlement by whites in the mid-1840s following the end of the Second Seminole War. In the absence of roads and railroads, coastal and inland waterways provided the transportation routes essential to farmers for marketing crops and receiving supplies. The village of Bayport, located at the mouth of the Weekiwachee River, sprang up in the early 1850s as a supply and cotton port. During the War Between the States, Union naval squadrons blockaded Florida's coasts to prevent goods and supplies from passing into and out of the State. By 1863, the East Gulf Blockade Squadron effectively closed the larger ports along the Gulf Coast. Small rivers, such as the Weekiwachee, became important trade routes. Shipping at Bayport attracted the attention of the Union Blockade Squadron, which intercepted eleven blockade runners near there between 1862 and 1865. After the war, Bayport became Hernando County's major outlet for lumber and agriculture products, and continued to serve as its transportation center until railroad service came to Brooksville in 1885.
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