Question: Which Florida river was called Rio de la Paz by Spanish explorers and flows through Paynes Creek Historic State Park?
Answer: The Peace River
The Peace River rises in the Green Swamp near Bartow and flows roughly 106 miles south to Charlotte Harbor, draining about 2,300 square miles along the way. Spanish maps labeled it Rio de la Paz as early as 1527; the Creek and later Seminole Indians called it Talakchopcohatchee, “River of Long Peas.” Today the river supplies about 26 million gallons of drinking water daily to four southwest Florida counties.
