[4] Sumter County historians believe that the town's name is derived from the wahoo trees, or the winged elms, that grew in the area.

In May 1539, a group of Spanish explorers, led by Hernando de Soto passed near the area.

[7] Historians believe that the introduction of malaria by DeSoto's expedition spread throughout the river valleys and killed about two-thirds of the Timucuan population.

[9] During the Queen Anne's War, Colonel James Moore raided Timucua villages and either sent them to the allies or to prisons.

[18] The Seminole leaders, predominately Osceola and the Wahoo Swamp resident Chief Jumper,[19] protested the move.

[20] In the meantime, white settlers violated the Treaty of Moultrie Creek by moving onto the public lands,[21] and slave hunters trespassed onto the reservation to capture black Seminoles without proof of ownership.

[24] In late 1835, General Duncan Clinch planned to attack the families living in the towns in the Wahoo Swamp to start a war[25] that would force the Seminoles' to comply with the Treaty of Payne's Landing.

[27] In early December 1835, General Clinch also gathered volunteers from various settlements in the area and regular soldiers in a company named the Florida Rangers and stationed them at his plantation[25] "Auld Lang Syne" 35 miles (56 kilometers) north of the area[28] and 10 miles (16 kilometers) south of the present-day town of Micanopy, Florida.

[30] After Dade's Battle on December 28, 1835, the parties returned to the Wahoo Swamp[31] 5 miles (8.0 kilometers) away.

On December 29, 1835,[32] General Duncan Clinch led the 250 regulars and 460 militiamen from his plantation toward the Wahoo Swamp.

[28] The army's guides led the men to a swift and deep spot in the Withlacoochee River.

[34] The Battle of the Withlacoochee River ended when Clinch and his men dismounted from their horses and charged at the Seminole, who retreated into the swamp.

In October 1836, Call began an expedition to destroy the village but had to abandon the trip as the detachment experienced food shortages and as they encountered a fire on the western bank of the Withlacoochee River.

[36] Killed in the battle was David Moniac, a 34-year-old West Point graduate who served with the Creek Volunteers.

[37] Maitland, suffering from malaria, was severely wounded in the battle, which led to his suicide in August 1837.

Gates of the 8th Infantry found three villages hidden by willow trees and accessible by canoe.

In that skirmish, one soldier from Company H, 8th Infantry, led by 1st Lieutenant P. Smirsh, was killed and another was injured.

[40] Many white settlers migrated to the area from Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina in the mid- to late-1800s,[41][42] as, according to John Lee Williams, an author who explored the northern and central portions of Florida in the 1830s, the Wahoo Swamp area was excellent for the cultivation of sugar cane.

[46] Wahoo residents protested, stating that they preferred the Bushnell fire department's plan to provide the town with a substation.

[48] County Road 48 enters Wahoo from the west and turns south as it exits the town en route to Bushnell.

[53] All four soils are poorly drained and slowly permeable that formed in marine sediments; they also support forest areas.

[47] According to the United States Census Bureau's American Community Surveys from 2008 to 2012, Wahoo had an estimated population of 2,673.

[63] Although those who did not complete high school had median earnings that were higher than those who graduated with bachelor's degrees,[62] 26.7% lived in poverty.

[67] According to the United States Census Bureau, 72.9% drove to work in their cars, trucks, or vans.

[70] The plaque, sponsored by the Sumter County Historical Society and the Florida Department of State,[71] describes the events of the Battle of Wahoo Swamp.