FLORIDA FEATURE ARTICLES : TALLAHASSEE

Pow-Wows, Plantations And The Prince History

From pow-wows to power-play politics, Tallahassee has been recognized for more than eight centuries as a capital core – first as a Native American ceremonial center, then as the hub of government for the Sunshine State.

From the first meeting of the Legislature to modern times, Tallahassee's history has revolved around its fierce determination to retain the title as Florida's capital. Despite its distance from navigable waters and its "sleepy town" image, Tallahassee finally anchored its position in 1977 by revealing the Capitol Complex.

Perseverance toward maintaining its deep-rooted Southern Heritage is reflected in its Capitol buildings, nationally significant archaeological digs, antebellum homes stretched along park-lined streets, sprawling plantations, a Civil War battlefield, historic churches, a cast of remarkable characters, and spirited festivals including re-enactments of pioneer and Indian Life.




Native Americans of the Paleolithic Age and extinct creatures such as giant mastodons - - one of which now resides at the Museum of Florida History - - first roamed the area nearly 12,000 years ago. Between 1250 and 1500, Mississippian Indians settled by Lake Jackson, still one of the best bass fishing spots in America.

Although it is not often spotlighted in history textbooks, Tallahassee borders on national stardom. In 1539, Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto set up a winter encampment in Tallahassee, the starting point on the first European exploration of the new territory.

Site of the first Christmas celebration in North America, the De Soto Archaeological and Historic Site has yielded evidence of the Spanish bivouac including the oldest copper coins ever unearthed in the United States.

During the 17th Century, Spaniards established their presence among the Apalachee Indians with the creation of Franciscan missions such as San Luis de Talimali, today a state-owned park just minutes west of downtown. Skirmishes among European powers resulted in death and dispersal of the Apalachee Indians and the destruction of the missions in 1704. By the end of the 18th Century, Creek and Seminole Indians re-populated the area. Fertile soil, lakes and rolling hills abundant with wild game attracted white settlers who eventually forced out the Indians.

In 1823, William Pope DuVal, first civilian governor of the new Territory of Florida, decided to designate a central location for the Legislature to meet.

He sent one explorer on horseback from St. Augustine and another by boat from Pensacola, and the two rendezvoused near a waterfall - - a spot its Indian inhabitants called "tallahassee." The meeting place was declared Florida's Capital, and unbelievably, it remains the spot of the capitol today.

Three log cabins served as the territory's first government buildings. The two-story masonry capitol was erected in 1826 with periodic expansions coinciding with attempts to remove the capital from Tallahassee.

On the eve of the Civil War, Tallahassee led the state in wealth and population. Confederate soldiers repelled Union troops at the Battle of Natural Bridge in March 1865, earning Tallahassee the distinction of being the only uncaptured Confederate capital east of the Mississippi. The site is now a state park 10 miles from downtown.

With the 22-story New Capitol towering overhead since 1977, the Old Capitol, erected in 1845, has been restored to its 1902 appearance complete with red-and-white candy-striped awnings and a gracious dome adorned with stained glass.

Tallahassee owes its birth to politics, but its pre-Civil War prosperity rested on the fortunes of area cotton plantations, many which still remain. The small town was noted more for the people it lured than events in history. Descendants of the first three presidents of the United States - - Washington, Adams and Jefferson - - and Prince Achille Murat, nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, settled in Tallahassee. In 1826, Murat married the great-grandniece of George Washington in the social event of the season. He wooed Kate by drinking from her slipper. Princess Murat's plantation home, Bellevue, is now located at the Tallahassee Museum.

Adjacent to the Governor's Mansion is The Grove, the plantation home of "The Tallahassee Girl," Ellen Call Long, the first white child born in town. The Goodwood Plantation, era 1840, served as the primary ground for political decision making in the mid-1900s.

One of the last plantations built was the 307-acre masterpiece of floral architecture now known as Maclay State Park. It boasts brilliant landscaping fashioned around reflecting pools, bubbling fountains and a natural lake.

Today, America's largest concentration of original plantations - - 71 plantations spanning 300,000 acres - - still exists between Tallahassee and Thomasville, Ga., 28 miles away.

Downtown Tallahassee grew as a trade center with Florida's first railroad - - a simple mule-drawn, rail trolley epitomizing the leisurely pace of Southern life - - connecting Tallahassee and St. Marks.

The 16-mile railroad bed has now been paved as the St. Mark's Bike Trail.

In the following years, the wealth flowing into Tallahassee was reflected in the downtown homes along Calhoun Street, dubbed "Gold Dust Street." Park Avenue, once "200 Foot Street" and "McCarty Street," was renamed to soothe a socialite's desire for a sophisticated name to appear on her son's wedding invitations.

Tallahassee's oldest remaining residence, known as The Columns, is a white-columned brick home, built in the 1830s on land purchased for $5 be William "Money" Williams. Rumored to have a nickel imbedded in every brick, it now houses the Tallahassee Area Chamber of Commerce.

A "main street," Adams Street Commons, retains a Southern town square flavor with restored buildings including the Governor's Club, a 1900s Masonic lodge, and Gallie's Hall, built in 1874 and listed on the National Register for Historic Places. In 1892, Gallie's Hall had standing room only as Florida's first five black college students received their diplomas from the State Normal and Industrial College, now Florida A & M University, home of the high-stepping Marching 100.

Other downtown area historic spots include the Union Bank, Florida's oldest surviving financial institution; First Presbyterian Church, the only remaining territorial church in Tallahassee; the intriguing Knott House That Rhymes, which reflects the political, economical and social history of Florida; and on a hill west of the Capitol, 134-year-old Florida State University.

Through the 20th Century, the agricultural-based economy diversified with politics and education becoming the focal points. Shedding its overalls and putting on the suit of a dynamic city, Tallahassee has secured the reigns of government.





Photo: Visit Florida









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