Wimauma

What's in a name?

The name for the Hillsborough County community was derived from the names of a settler's three daughters.

By MICHELLE JONES, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published February 7, 2003

Wimauma, a community in southeastern Hillsborough County, whose name sounds like it was derived from an Indian word, actually came from the first letters of Captain C.H. Davis' three daughters named Willie, Maude and Mary. It is pronounced why-mama.

In the early 1900s, Davis and his father-in-law, D.M. Dowdell, were among the settlers drawn to the area by the fertile fields and abundant timber.

Dowdell bought land and they produced turpentine from the timber.

Soon, a turpentine factory was built, then came a sawmill and thriving cattle production. A major railroad stop and a train station followed around 1910.

Eventually, the turpentine factory folded and agriculture became the community's most prosperous business.

Citrus groves, vegetables including large crops of tomatoes, and fruits such as strawberries and blueberries keep farmers and their workers busy during the fall, winter and spring. Migrants, primarily from Mexico, come to Wimauma to work on the farms. Wimauma has the highest percentage of Hispanics in Hillsborough County, 71 percent.

Many of the migrant workers and their families live in Wimauma year-round, finding odd jobs when there are no vegetables or fruit to pick. Nearby phosphate mines in Polk County and affluent homes in Sun City Center also provide jobs for the population of about 6,500.