Native Occupation

From around 500 AD, long before European settlement, Apalachee natives occupied the Tallahassee area, establishing a culture that centered around agriculture, trading, and pottery. This would continue until 1528, when Spanish explorer, Panfilo de Narvaez, became the first documented European to come into contact with the local Native population. Eleven years later, in 1539, the Hernando de Soto expedition spent the winter in this area, just one mile from the present day Florida capitol. It is at this time that de Soto and his crew celebrated America’s first Christmas in the United States.As contact with Spanish became more common for the local Apalachee population, efforts to spread religion through local native villages began. In 1607 the Apalachee Natives asked the Spanish Governor to send missionaries to the area, thus establishing a mission chain from St. Augustine to Tallahassee, Mission San Luis. However, religion was not the only thing spreading amongst the natives after coming into contact with the Spanish, so too was disease and warfare, effectively destroying the native Apalachee population.In 1704, the Spanish missions that had been established in the area were destroyed by the combined Creek Natives, and British forces. Those that remained of the Apalachee population, would abandon the area. In 1725, additional Lower Creek natives would enter this area from the bordering Alabama and Georgia regions, removing themselves from the dominance of the upper creeks – and would later become known as Seminoles, or “runaways”. In 1763 the Tallahassee area became a British possession when Spain ceded Florida to England in exchange for Cuba. Twenty years later, the Spanish would regain control of Florida. 

Territorial Days

In 1818 General Andrew Jackson led an invasion through Florida, and drove the local Seminole population from the area. A year later, the Spanish again ceded the Florida territory, this time to the United States government. In 1822, and act of Congress created the Florida Territory – Andrew Jackson would become the first territorial Governor of Florida, and eventually the 7th president of the United States of America.When Florida became a US territory in 1821, it had two subdivisions; Escambia County which was all of Florida west of the Suwannee River, and St. John's County, which was everything east and into the peninsula. Originally a part of Escambia County, in 1822 Jackson County was formed out of Escambia, and in 1823 Gadsden was formed out of Jackson County, until 1824 when the territorial legislature of Florida formed Leon County out of Gadsden county to create one of Florida's earliest political subdivisions, and what would become Florida’s Capital County,  stretching a massive distance between the Ocklocknee River to the west and the Suwannee River to the east, with the Georgia line to the north and the Gulf of Mexico to the south.

The Great Compromise

Tallahassee earned its title in the early 16 century from the Apalachee Natives who originally inhabited the area. The City of Tallahassee was established in 1825, while Florida was still a US territory (not officially a state until 1845, 27th) following a decision by the territorial Florida legislature, and territorial Governor William Pope Duval, to locate the capital in the new territory midway between the competing cities of St. Augustine and Pensacola. A commission of two men, one in a boat from Pensacola and one on horse from St. Augustine, settled on a place “North of St. Marks”, a place with a beautiful waterfall, Cascades Park, to build what would become the City of Tallahassee, Florida’s Capital City. The commissioner from Pensacola wrote: Doct. Simmons has agreed that the site should be fixed near the old fields abandoned by the Indians after Jackson’s invasion, but has not yet determined whether between the... old fields, or on a fine high lawn about a mile W. In both spots, the water is plenty and good....Directly east of the old fields runs a...stream of water which you must recollect. This stream, after running about a mile south, pitches about 20 or 30feet into an immense chasm, in which it runs 60 or 70 rods to the base of a high hill which it enters among clefts of Amorphous argillaceous...rocks full of shells and other fossils. – John Lee Williams

Rise of the Local Economy

Leon County was one of the most populous and prosperous counties in Florida prior to the civil war due in large part to its early involvement in agribusiness. Leon County gained a reputation in its early days, for having some of the finest soils for Cotton production –dubbed a true “Cotton Kingdom”, ranking 5th of all Florida and Georgia counties in the production of cotton from its 20 major plantations. In 1834, the Tallahassee-St. Marks railroad was constructed in Leon County (Wakulla was not a county until 1843) and was reported to be the 3rd oldest railroad in the United States at that time. Advancements in transportation, made it possible for Leon County cotton producers to export their product to other markets, and soon other industries would spring up taking advantage of Leon County’s natural resources and its superior transportation infrastructure. By the late 1890s, dairy production began to catch on in Leon County, and by 1900, Leon County was the Florida first county in milk production. The Leon County Dairy Association was organized in 1918. The 1920 census showed Leon County as having 7885 dairy cows with milk production at 589,350 gallons. Tallahassee's first milk plant was opened by 1923 and there were 25 operational dairies in Leon county at that time. Just prior to World War II, milk production was 745,901 gallons a day. By 1964, dairies had decreased to 11 with only 1 dairy in production and home delivery of dairy products. (5) Thereafter, Leon county plantations began raising cattle for beef.

The Establishment of Higher Education

In 1851, the Florida legislature passed a law to establish two institutions of higher learning in the State, one on each side of the Suwanee River. The Florida legisture specified the nature and scope of instruction at each institution, however, the one thing that was left to be determined was the placement for each institution. Similar to today, the legislature wanted to find a community that would offer the greatest support, and resources for the institution. By 1853, the legislature had accepted Ocala’s bid to become the site of the East Florida seminary, however, things were a tad more competitive in the West. The cities of Tallahassee, Marianna, and Quincy each entered bids for the new institution. The field was then narrowed down to two, Tallahassee and Marianna. Tallahassee Intendant (Mayor), Francis W. Eppes, grandson of Thomas Jefferson, third President of the United States was well aware of the benefits an institution of higher learning could bring to a city and was determined to win the west seminary for Tallahassee. By 1856 Eppes and the Tallahassee City Council had won the competition. The land slightly west of the center of Tallahassee, formerly known as Gallows Hill, which was the site and building of the ongoing Florida Institute, was offered and accepted as the western state seminary for male students. While the seminary did not officially hold classes as a state institution until 1857, it absorbed the Tallahassee Female Academy begun in 1843 as the Misses Bates School, thereby becoming co-educational.⁶ As a result of this merger Florida State University is the oldest university in Florida, with clear predecessor operations traceable to 1843, about two years before Florida became a state of the United States.

On October 3, 1887, the State Normal College for Colored Students began classes, and became a land grant university four years later when it received $7,500 under the Second Morrill Act, and its name was changed to State Normal and Industrial College for Colored Students. However, it was not an official institution of higher learning until the 1905 Buckman Act, which transferred control from the Board of Education to the Board of Control, establishing the a University for white male students (now known as the University of Florida) a College for Women (now known as Florida State University) and a institution for African Americans,  the foundation for the modern Florida A&M University. In 1909, the name of the college was once again changed to Florida Agricultural and Mechanical College for Negroes, and in 1953 the name was finally changed to Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University.7In 1861 Florida ceded from the United States to join the Confederacy. This led to the famous Battle at Natural Bridge in 1865, a stand-off that helped Tallahassee to become the only Capital City east of the Mississippi river not captured by Union forces during the Civil War. The only other capital city not captured by union forces was Austin, TX.  Florida was readmitted to the union on June 25, 1868. The abolition of slavery dealt a major blow to the local economy, and for many years thereafter Tallahassee would continue to struggle with racial tension.

Modern Tallahassee

Despite some mid-century racial struggles common to southern cities at the time, Tallahassee maintained its place as the social and political capital of Florida. Hotel Leon, which once sat at the heart of downtown Tallahassee, was listed as one of Florida’s top three winter resorts, along with a location in Jacksonville and another in Sanford, FL (Orlando area). Songs were written about Tallahassee’s natural beauty, and southern hospitality. Shops thrived in the heart of the city, entertainment and culture were at an all-time high. Yet despite all of this, Tallahassee would face yet another struggle, in 1967 when the Florida legislature began to debate the possibility of relocating the seat of Government to another city. Tallahassee’s delegation to the Florida legislature quickly set out to enlist the support of the community in an effort to preserve the Capitol’s presence in Tallahassee. The Junior League took a bus load of legislators’ wives on a tour of old homes in Tallahassee and nearby Monticello and were rewarded with an enthusiastic response. Realizing many Floridians had never seen Tallahassee, groups also began to compound what they believed to be the best of Tallahassee and it was decided that they would promote Tallahassee as every Floridian’s “home away from home”.  Ultimately the unity and hard work of Tallahassee citizens was rewarded when the Florida legislature decided not only to maintain the Florida Capital in its longstanding location, but to erect a 300 foot (100M)  monument to its permanence as the seat of Florida’s government, that monument is now known as the “New Capitol”.Today, Tallahassee is a modern “neopolitan” oasis in Florida’s well preserved Red Hills region, offering all of the amenities of a big city together with its southern charm. After what has seemed like years of stagnation, Tallahassee is experiencing levels of growth not experienced since the 1970s. While government remains the city’s largest industry, efforts are underway to further diversify the local economy. Tallahassee remains a center for higher education in the state of Florida, boasting the state’s highest percentage of college educated residents.

All images courtesy of the State of Florida, Department of State, photographic archives. (5) Paisley, Clifton; From Cotton To Quail, University of Florida Press, c1968.pp. 108-110(6)State Library and Archives of Florida - Florida Photographic Collection, West Florida Seminary circa 1884. Archives metadata: Building given to the seminary at its inception (1857) for classes. Destroyed in 1891 to make way for College Hall. Retrieved on 4-29-2007. (7) "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2007-01-23. http://www.nr.nps.gov/.