Valdez is an unincorporated community  located in southwest Volusia County

Volusia County, Florida

Volusia County is a county located in the state of Florida. The U.S. Census Bureau 2010 official county's population was 494,593 . Its county seat is DeLand, and its most populous city is currently Deltona....

, Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

, within the city limits of DeBary

DeBary, Florida

As of the census of 2000, there were 15,559 people, 6,538 households, and 4,720 families residing in the city. The population density was 853.8 inhabitants per square mile . There were 7,001 housing units at an average density of 384.2 per square mile...

. Valdez is located along US Highway 17-92 (Charles Richard Beall Blvd.) where it intersects with Barwick Road, just north of the St. Johns River.

History

Valdez was named in honor of Antonio Valdez

Antonio Valdés y Fernández Bazán

Antonio Valdés y Fernández Bazán was a naval officer of the Spanish Royal Navy....

, the secretary of the Spanish navy in 1787, when the Spanish explored the area. He chose one of his proteges, Lt. Jose del Rio Cossa, to conduct an exploratory survey of Florida's naval store resources. In this survey, Cossa created a enormous map in which he renamed Lake George (now Lake Monroe) to Laguana Valdez. Although this name did not persist, pre-American land deeds referred to what is now Lake Monroe as Valdez.

In 1928, Florida Power & Light began constructing a power plant in Valdez on the north shore of the St. Johns river.