Ojus, FL USDA Benefits

Ojus is a census-designated place and formerly incorporated town in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The population was 19,673 at the 2020 census, up from 18,036 in 2010.

People have been living in the Ojus area for thousands of years. Paleo-Indians have been documented in South Florida dating back to over 13,000 years ago. Archaeologists have uncovered ancient sites at Arch Creek and along the Oleta River. According to archaeologist Robert Carr, although the largest Tequesta settlement was located at the mouth of the Miami River, by 750 BCE approximately 100 Native Americans routinely inhabited the local area which was just a one-hour canoe trip north of the main settlement. The Oleta River, which cuts through Ojus, was one of the Tequesta’s primary “roadways” for millennia. Subsequent people, to include Seminoles, European explorers, and early settlers, would also use the Oleta River to traverse from Miami to the New River in Ft. Lauderdale.

During the late nineteenth century, settlers established farms along the Oleta River. These settlers grew peas, beans, sugar cane, and tomatoes. Seminoles set up a trading post near present-day Greynolds Park to conduct business with the Ojus settlers. In 1897, Albert Fitch named the area “Ojus” after the Seminole word for “plenty” or “lots of”. After the turn of the century, rock was discovered in the area that was ideal for road building. Many of the neighborhood lakes were created during the early part of the twentieth century to support the construction of the area’s infrastructure.

State representative Graham W. King lived in Ojus.

Voters initially approved the Town of Ojus on 4/12/1926 only to have this set aside by the state supreme court due to invalid boundary specifications. A second vote for incorporation was approved by voters on 8/31/1926. In 1927, the Town of Ojus was abolished by the state as a municipal government and re-established as a municipal corporation, along with other charter changes. In 1929, a court upheld the city council’s refusal of the mayor’s order for a charter election. Subsequently the state passed a bill calling for the abolishment of the town, which was rejected by voters. In 1931, the state abolished the Town of Ojus with voter approval on 7/15/1931. A court rescinded this on 10/26/1933 due to the outstanding debt associated with the town. The town was dissolved on 8/8/1935 after the state again abolished the town with voters approving on 8/6/1935. This time, the state was explicit regarding the handling of, and a mechanism to eliminate, the town’s debt.