As with many towns in Florida, it was used for military training during World War II. The remnants of a landing field can still be seen today by a stand of trees, about 1 mile east of town.
Also, like the town of St Cloud it was a major sugar cane producer in the early 20th century. with its own railway for transporting the cane. Remnants can be seen from highway 441
The community name derives from Indian term for "place where something is hauled". It is in the Eastern Standard time zone. Elevation is 75 feet. The climate is generally hot, muggy and buggy.
There are also substantial operations involving cattle ranching, timber and citrus in thearea around Holopaw plus the Bull Creek Wildlife Management Area can be found just a fewmiles east on highway 192.