[4] The village of Bayport, located at the mouth of the Weeki Wachee River, sprang up in the early 1850s[5] as a supply and cotton port.

[6] During the Civil War, Union naval squadrons blockaded Florida's coasts to prevent goods and supplies from passing into and out of the state.

[7] The Confederate cannon battery site can still be seen on the wooded point just north of the Bayport fishing pier at the mouth of the Weeki Wachee River.

[8] After the war Bayport became Hernando County's major outlet for lumber and agricultural products, and continued to serve as its transportation center until railroad service came to Brooksville in 1885.

[9] In the spring of 2008, Hernando County and the Southwest Florida Water Management District rebuilt Bayport's marina and park area.

[10] Cortez Boulevard, the main road to the community, leads east 5 miles (8 km) to U.S. Route 19 at Weeki Wachee.