Nocoroco, on the Tomoka River in Tomoka State Park north of Ormond Beach, preserves evidence of human use stretching back about seven thousand years and later served as a Timucuan village. Around twelve hundred years ago it was inhabited by Timucua, whose descendants remained when Europeans arrived, and in 1605 Álvaro Mexía visited during an early phase of Spanish contact. Archaeological remains from the late St. Johns period include an unusual black-earth midden with shell deposits showing long use of river and coastal resources, including fish, shellfish, deer, turtle, and alligator. Later the area became part of the British grant Mt. Oswald before gaining recognition for its importance to aboriginal history.