The history of Leon County, Florida, much like the History of Tallahassee, dates back to the

settlement of the Americas The settlement of the Americas began when Paleolithic hunter-gatherers entered North America from the North Asian Mammoth steppe via the Beringia land bridge, which had formed between northeastern Siberia and western Alaska due to the lowering of ...

. Beginning in the 16th century, the region was colonized by Europeans, becoming part of

Spanish Florida Spanish Florida ( es, La Florida) was the first major European land claim and attempted settlement in North America during the European Age of Discovery. ''La Florida'' formed part of the Captaincy General of Cuba, the Viceroyalty of New Spain, ...

. In 1819, the

Adams–Onís Treaty The Adams–Onís Treaty () of 1819, also known as the Transcontinental Treaty, the Florida Purchase Treaty, or the Florida Treaty,Weeks, p.168. was a treaty between the United States and Spain in 1819 that ceded Florida to the U.S. and defined t ...

ceded Spanish Florida, including modern-day Leon County, to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Named for Spanish explorer

Juan Ponce de León Juan Ponce de León (, , , ; 1474 – July 1521) was a Spanish explorer and '' conquistador'' known for leading the first official European expedition to Florida and for serving as the first governor of Puerto Rico. He was born in Santervá ...

, Leon County became an official U.S. county in 1824; the American takeover led to the county's rapid expansion as growing numbers of cotton plantations began to spring up nearby, increasing Leon County's population significantly.

Prehistoric

Leon County, like most of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

, supported a variety of ancient and now extinct animals as far back as 33 million years ago. There are no fossils of

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...

s in Florida. Prior to the

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...

, Florida was a submerged

carbonate platform A carbonate platform is a sedimentary body which possesses topographic relief, and is composed of autochthonic calcareous deposits. Platform growth is mediated by sessile organisms whose skeletons build up the reef or by organisms (usually microb ...

essentially cut off from the continent by the Gulf Trough. When this trough filled with sediments during the

Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene' ...

—Miocene, the

carbonate A carbonate is a salt of carbonic acid (H2CO3), characterized by the presence of the carbonate ion, a polyatomic ion with the formula . The word ''carbonate'' may also refer to a carbonate ester, an organic compound containing the carbonate g ...

Florida Platform collected sediments and became exposed allowing flora and fauna to take hold. Proto dogs and

bear-dog Amphicyonidae is an extinct family of terrestrial carnivorans belonging to the suborder Caniformia. They first appeared in North America in the middle Eocene (around 45 mya), spread to Europe by the late Eocene (35 mya), and appear in Asia, an ...

s, along with large cats and other carnivores migrated to the peninsula following their prey of ancient

ruminant Ruminants (suborder Ruminantia) are ungulate, hoofed herbivorous grazing or browsing mammals that are able to acquire nutrients from plant-based food by Enteric fermentation, fermenting it in a specialized stomach prior to digestion, principally ...

s and

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...

-like mammals. *See:

Leon County, Florida paleontological sites The Leon County, Florida, Leon County paleontological sites are assemblages of Early Miocene invertebrates and vertebrates of Leon County, Florida, United States. Age Era (geology), Era: Neogene. Period (geology), Period: Early Miocene. Faunal s ...

Early human habitation

Florida's human occupation, as with that of America, are divided into Paleoindian, Archaic, Woodland, Mississippian, and

Protohistoric Protohistory is a period between prehistory and history during which a culture or civilization has not yet developed writing, but other cultures have already noted the existence of those pre-literate groups in their own writings. For example, in ...

periods. Exceptions are the Protohistoric period, the others are often divided into Early, Middle and Late subperiods and further divided by the term "culture" within the subperiods. What is now Leon County was occupied by Paleoindians or

Clovis culture The Clovis culture is a prehistoric Paleoamerican culture, named for distinct stone and bone tools found in close association with Pleistocene fauna, particularly two mammoths, at Blackwater Locality No. 1 near Clovis, New Mexico, in 1936 ...

12,000 years ago (

Upper Paleolithic The Upper Paleolithic (or Upper Palaeolithic) is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. Very broadly, it dates to between 50,000 and 12,000 years ago (the beginning of the Holocene), according to some theories coin ...

period). These hunter-gatherer tribes lived in what is now Leon County near water sources where water was shared with animals which outlived many of the aforementioned predators. Animals such as

Ancient bison ''Bison antiquus'', the antique bison or ancient bison, is an extinct species of bison that lived in Late Pleistocene North America until around 10,000 years ago. It was one of the most common large herbivores on the North American continent dur ...

Mastodon A mastodon ( 'breast' + 'tooth') is any proboscidean belonging to the extinct genus ''Mammut'' (family Mammutidae). Mastodons inhabited North and Central America during the late Miocene or late Pliocene up to their extinction at the end of th ...

, Ice Age camel,

Giant ground sloth ''Megatherium'' ( ; from Greek () 'great' + () 'beast') is an extinct genus of ground sloths endemic to South America that lived from the Early Pliocene through the end of the Pleistocene. It is best known for the elephant-sized type species ' ...

Saber-toothed Tiger ''Smilodon'' is a genus of the extinct machairodont subfamily of the felids. It is one of the most famous prehistoric mammals and the best known saber-toothed cat. Although commonly known as the saber-toothed tiger, it was not closely related ...

Columbian Mammoth The Columbian mammoth (''Mammuthus columbi'') is an extinct species of mammoth that inhabited the Americas as far north as the Northern United States and as far south as Costa Rica during the Pleistocene epoch. It was one of the last in a line ...

, Equus,

Short-faced bear The Tremarctinae or short-faced bears is a subfamily of Ursidae that contains one living representative, the spectacled bear (''Tremarctos ornatus'') of South America, and several extinct species from four genera: the Florida spectacled bear ('' ...

, and

American lion ''Panthera atrox'', better known as the American lion, also called the North American lion, or American cave lion, is an extinct pantherine cat that lived in North America during the Pleistocene epoch and the early Holocene epoch, about 340,0 ...

would frequent these areas.

Archaic period

The Archaic cultures (10,000-2500 BCE), are divided into Early, Middle, and Late for the southeastern

and can be described as having a more humid climate. Sea level rose rapidly and water tables and ecosystems looked much like that of today. Population increased and people began settling in smaller territorial areas. People began using forms of triangular-shaped projectile points and it is thought that Indians switched from hand held spears to spear throwers to more easily bring down game, which for the most part, were the same species as contemporary animals. The cumulative effects of these changes led to increased regionalization as native peoples began adapting to specific local resources. In the Apalachee region this period is also known as the

Norwood culture The Norwood culture was a subculture or subperiod of the late Archaic culture. The Norwood culture was located in the Apalachee region, a forested and hilly part of what is now north Florida and was typical of other Archaic cultures using tria ...

Woodland period

The

Woodland period In the classification of :category:Archaeological cultures of North America, archaeological cultures of North America, the Woodland period of North American pre-Columbian cultures spanned a period from roughly 1000 Common Era, BCE to European con ...

(2500 BCE-900 CE) is divided up fundamentally into the

Deptford culture The Deptford culture (800 Current Era, BCE—700 CE) was an archaeological culture in southeastern North America characterized by the appearance of elaborate ceremonial complexes, increasing social and political complexity, Tumulus, mound burial, ...

(2500 BCE-100 CE),

Swift Creek culture The Swift Creek culture was a Middle Woodland period archaeological culture in the Southeastern Woodlands of North America, dating to around 100-800 CE. It occupied the areas now part of Georgia, Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, and Tennessee. In ...

(100-300 CE),

Santa Rosa-Swift Creek culture Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts during the late evening and overnigh ...

(100-300 CE), and

Weeden Island culture The Weeden Island Cultures are a group of related archaeological cultures that existed during the Late Woodland period of the North American Southeast. The name for this group of cultures was derived from the Weedon Island site (despite the diss ...

(300-900 CE) cultures. It is characterized by and widespread use of

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and por ...

(and tempering agents) which began in the late Archaic period. Also, the increasing sophistication of pottery forms and decoration began. The increasing use of

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

also meant that the

nomad A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the popu ...

ic nature of many of the

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...

s was supplanted by permanently occupied villages, although agricultural development did not really advance until the Mississippian period. Burial of the deceased in mounds with elaborate grave goods also began. *Also see:

Deptford culture

The

(2500—1900 BCE) was the first existence of the Woodland tradition in Florida. Mainly a coastal occupation though some people located inland. Ceramics were decorated and stamped. Pottery no longer tempered with plant fibers is used in favor of clay or sand pastes. East of the

Aucilla River The Aucilla River rises in Brooks County, Georgia, USA, close to Thomasville, and passes through the Big Bend region of Florida, emptying into the Gulf of Mexico at Apalachee Bay. Some early maps called it the Ocilla River. It is long and ha ...

, the Deptford culture people transition directly into the Fort Walton Culture. The 2001 Letchworth Auger Survey shows no activity at the Letchworth site in

Jefferson County, Florida Jefferson County is a County (United States), county located in the Big Bend (Florida), Big Bend region in the North Florida, northern part of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 14,510 ...

. Sites along the coastal areas are low in numbers where many more recent sites are inland which may be in part related to the rise in sea level that probably inundated many sites. It is estimated that sea level on the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

coast of northern Florida had risen 2 m (6.5 ft) over the last 2000 years.

Swift Creek culture

The

first appeared in south Georgia about 100 BCE where it developed out of the Deptford culture and flourished at 200-400 CE. Villages were first established in significant numbers in the interior forest and river valleys of the eastern Panhandle, although Swift Creek sites can also be found along the coast. Ceramics were characterized by complicated stamped pottery and are commonly found in the

Red Hills Region The Red Hills or Tallahassee Hills is a region of gently rolling hills in the southeastern United States. It is a geomorphic region and an ecoregion. Location The Red Hills physiographic region of northern Florida was defined in 1914 as most o ...

, as delineated by Cooke. These sites are especially prevalent in the river valley forest and other fertile locales. Gardening probably played a role in the Swift Creek economic system, although evidence supporting cultivation remains sparse. Bone and stone tools appear in greater numbers in their tool kits than during the previous Deptford period.

Weeden Island culture

The

400–1000. The Weeden Island culture is believed to have emerged from the

Hopewell culture The Hopewell tradition, also called the Hopewell culture and Hopewellian exchange, describes a network of precontact Native American cultures that flourished in settlements along rivers in the northeastern and midwestern Eastern Woodlands from ...

-based Swift Creek cultural tradition of northwest Florida during the Middle Woodland Period (c. 200 - 500) in the lower

Chattahoochee The Chattahoochee River forms the southern half of the Alabama and Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia border, as well as a portion of the Florida - Georgia border. It is a tributary of the Apalachicola River, a relatively short river formed by the con ...

- Apalachicola river drainage, persisting in some areas until the end of the Woodland period c. 1200 CE. Weeden Island sites have been found from Mobile Bay to south of Tampa Bay, extending as far north as lower-central Georgia. Concentrated around lakes

Lake Miccosukee Lake Miccosukee is a large swampy prairie lake in northern Jefferson County, Florida, located east of the settlement of Miccosukee. A small portion of the lake, its northwest corner, is located in Leon County. The small town of Miccosukee, Flo ...

and

Lake Iamonia Lake Iamonia is a large, subtropical prairie lake in northern Leon County, Florida, United States, created during the Pleistocene epoch. History Forming Iamonia Lake Iamonia's base was established during the Early Pleistocene through submerg ...

. Adoption of

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

agriculture. Pottery was Weeden Island plain ware and Swift Creek Complicated Stamped.

Mississippian

From 1100 to 1500, the Mississippian culture thrived. The Lake Jackson Mounds site, a Mississippian mound-building complex, was extremely active. It is more accurately a site of the

Leon-Jefferson Culture The Leon-Jefferson Culture is the term used by archaeologists for a protohistoric Native American archaeological culture that flourished in southeastern North America from approximately 1500–1704 CE and is associated with the historic Apalache ...

, an advanced society of the Fort Walton Culture. Lake Jackson Mounds are located on the southwest edge of Lake Jackson in

Tallahassee Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2020, the population ...

now the

Lake Jackson Mounds Archaeological State Park Lake Jackson Mounds Archaeological State Park (8LE1) is one of the most important archaeological sites in Florida, the capital of chiefdom and ceremonial center of the Fort Walton Culture inhabited from 1050–1500. The complex originally includ ...

and had a large village and plaza. This site was one of the most magnificent ceremonial centers in the southeastern United States. The region's red hills with extremely fertile red clay soils enabled these inhabitants to grow bountiful crops.

16th and 17th centuries

First period of Spanish rule

Pánfilo de Narváez Pánfilo de Narváez (; 147?–1528) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' and soldier in the Americas. Born in Spain, he first embarked to Jamaica in 1510 as a soldier. He came to participate in the conquest of Cuba and led an expedition to Camagüey ...

and his followers first passed south of Leon County in 1528. In 1539,

Hernando de Soto Hernando de Soto (; ; 1500 – 21 May, 1542) was a Spanish explorer and '' conquistador'' who was involved in expeditions in Nicaragua and the Yucatan Peninsula. He played an important role in Francisco Pizarro's conquest of the Inca Empire ...

stayed 5 months at the

Apalachee The Apalachee were an Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands, specifically an Indigenous people of Florida, who lived in the Florida Panhandle until the early 18th century. They lived between the Aucilla River and Ochlockonee River,Bobby ...

Indian capitol of

Anhaica Anhaica (also known as Iviahica, Yniahico, and pueblo of Apalache) was the principal town of the Apalachee people, located in what is now Tallahassee, Florida. In the early period of Spanish colonization, it was the capital of the Apalachee Provin ...

bringing priests with him. The first

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

in the New World was celebrated in the woods near the present capitol building. As more Spanish colonists arrived, they brought disease and fighting. This reduced the population of the Apalachee tribe who left the area for points west. In February 1647, the Apalachee revolted against the Spanish near a mission named San Antonio de Bacuqua in present-day Leon County. The revolt changed the relationship between Spanish authorities and the Apalachee. Following the revolt, Apalachee men were forced to work on public projects in St. Augustine or on Spanish-owned ranches. In 1656, a Spanish deputy governor and his crew settled in the Apalachee town that they called

Mission San Luis de Apalachee Mission San Luis de Apalachee (also known as San Luis de Talimali) was a Spanish Franciscan mission built in 1656 in the Florida Panhandle, two miles west of the present-day Florida Capitol Building in Tallahassee, Florida. It was located in the d ...

, in the west of modern Tallahassee. With a population of more than 1,400, the Spanish established one of several Franciscan missions in the vicinity. While there, the Spaniards lived off the generosity of the Apalachee. At the same time, they tried to convert the Apalachee to the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

faith. Beginning in the late 17th century, English colonists in the neighboring

Province of Carolina Province of Carolina was a province of England (1663–1707) and Great Britain (1707–1712) that existed in North America and the Caribbean from 1663 until partitioned into North and South on January 24, 1712. It is part of present-day Alaba ...

began to formulate plans to raid Spanish Florida. During

Queen Anne's War Queen Anne's War (1702–1713) was the second in a series of French and Indian Wars fought in North America involving the colonial empires of Great Britain, France, and Spain; it took place during the reign of Anne, Queen of Great Britain. In E ...

(1702–1713), Governor James Moore launched several raids into Florida, including the territory of modern-day Leon County, against Spanish missions in the region in conjunction with Indian allies. However, an attempt by Moore to capture St. Augustine ended in disgrace, forcing him to resign his post in 1703.

18th and 19th centuries

Second period of Spanish rule

In 1795 what is now Leon County along with the rest of Florida fell back under the rule of Spain. Over the years there were attacks on Indian towns in Florida by settlers in Georgia and in return Indians attacked settlers in Georgia prompting the 1817-1818 campaign by the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

and

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

known as the

First Seminole War The Seminole Wars (also known as the Florida Wars) were three related military conflicts in Florida between the United States and the Seminole, citizens of a Native American nation which formed in the region during the early 1700s. Hostilities ...

. In 1818, Jackson burned Tallahassee, then invaded the small village of

Miccosukee The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida is a federally recognized Native American tribe in the U.S. state of Florida. They were part of the Seminole nation until the mid-20th century, when they organized as an independent tribe, receiving fed ...

in what is now northeastern Leon County.

Territorial Florida

:See also

History of Tallahassee, Florida The history of Tallahassee, Florida, much like the History of Leon County, Florida, history of Leon County, dates back to the settlement of the Americas. Beginning in the 16th century, the region was European colonization of the Americas, coloniz ...

In 1821, Florida became a

territory A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...

of the

. Both St. Augustine and

Pensacola Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ci ...

competed to become the capital city. Legislators alternated sessions. Travel was hazardous and took almost twenty days. General

served as military governor of the newly acquired territory and appointed two commissioners to find a suitable new location for the state capitol. One rode on horseback from St. Augustine and the other sailed by boat from Pensacola. They met at the port of St. Marks, Florida, about south of present-day

, halfway between St. Augustine and

. They discovered a place north of St. Marks. They reported,

“A more beautiful country can scarcely be managed;^Imagined? it is high, rolling, and well watered, the richness of the soil renders it perfectly adapted to farming."

On March 30, 1822, the United States merged

East Florida East Florida ( es, Florida Oriental) was a colony of Great Britain from 1763 to 1783 and a province of Spanish Florida from 1783 to 1821. Great Britain gained control of the long-established Spanish colony of ''La Florida'' in 1763 as part of ...

and part of

West Florida West Florida ( es, Florida Occidental) was a region on the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico that underwent several boundary and sovereignty changes during its history. As its name suggests, it was formed out of the western part of former S ...

into the

Florida Territory The Territory of Florida was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 30, 1822, until March 3, 1845, when it was admitted to the Union as the state of Florida. Originally the major portion of the Spanish te ...

. Originally part of Escambia and later

Gadsden County Gadsden County is a county located in the panhandle of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 43,826. Its county seat is Quincy. Gadsden County is included in the Tallahassee, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area. Ga ...

, Leon County was created in 1824. It was named for the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

explorer Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...

who was the first

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an to reach Florida.

Territorial Governors from Leon County

Richard Keith Call Richard Keith Call (October 24, 1792 – September 14, 1862) was an American attorney, politician, and slave owner who served as the 3rd and 5th territorial governor of Florida. Before that, he was elected to the Florida Territorial Council and a ...

served from 1836 to 1839 and 1841 to 1844. Though not a native, Call came to Florida in 1814 and was a land owner in Leon County as early as the 1820s. He established Orchard Pond Plantation and

The Grove Plantation The Grove, known officially as the Call/Collins House at The Grove, is an antebellum plantation house located in Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida. Territorial Governor Richard Keith Call constructed The Grove circa 1840. By 1851, Call deeded th ...

. *

John Branch John Branch Jr. (November 4, 1782January 4, 1863) was an American politician who served as U.S. Senator, Secretary of the Navy, the 19th Governor of the state of North Carolina, and was the sixth and last territorial governor of Florida. Bio ...

served from 1844 to 1845. Also not a native, Branch moved to Leon County in the 1830s purchasing land on which he would establish Live Oak Plantation. : ''See also

List of governors of Florida The governor of Florida is the head of government of the state of Florida and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Florid ...

The Plantations of Leon County

Leon County in the 1820s and 1830s was the destination of a number of northern

planters Planters Nut & Chocolate Company is an American snack food company now owned by Hormel Foods. Planters is best known for its processed nuts and for the Mr. Peanut icon that symbolizes them. Mr. Peanut was created by grade schooler Antonio Gentil ...

. Besides the aforementioned R.K. Call and John Branch, names such as

Francis W. Eppes Francis Wayles Eppes (September 20, 1801 – May 30, 1881) was a planter and slave owner from Virginia who became a cotton planter in the Florida Territory and later civic leader in Tallahassee, Florida, Tallahassee and surrounding Leon County, F ...

, William Bailey, the Chaires brothers, the Bradford brothers, George Taliaferro Ward, and many others began large

cotton plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

s in Leon County. At the center of what was then called Middle Florida, there was much less population than in

and

, and no problem with the memories of the more lenient treatment of slaves under

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. Building a plantation, slave-based economy in Middle Florida was much easier.

Second Seminole War

The

Second Seminole War The Second Seminole War, also known as the Florida War, was a conflict from 1835 to 1842 in Florida between the United States and groups collectively known as Seminoles, consisting of Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans and ...

of 1835-1842 touched Leon County as it would most of Florida when family members and slaves of Green A. Chaires were massacred on his first plantation on

Lake Lafayette Lake Lafayette is a prairie lake located in the coastal lowland in eastern Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida with US 27 / State Road 20 running close on its south side. History Prehistoric Originally known as Prairie Lake, Lake Lafayette is t ...

. In 1837, the

Tallahassee Railroad The Tallahassee Railroad, headquartered in Tallahassee, Florida, was one of the first two railroads in Florida, starting operations in 1836 or 1837. It did not successfully use steam locomotives until 1855, with trains being pulled by mules for mo ...

was completed linking Tallahassee to the Gulf port of St. Marks to the south.

Forts of Leon County

During the Seminole Wars, 5 forts were constructed for the protection of settlers. *1839-1842 - Ft. Braden was named after the commander's wife who died of yellow fever. Fort Braden was located on the

Ochlockonee River The Ochlockonee River ( ) is a fast running river, except where it has been dammed to form Lake Talquin in Florida, originating in Georgia and flowing for before terminating in Florida. Background The name is from the Hitchiti language words ...

. *1840 - Fort Harriet near the head of the

Sopchoppy River The Sopchoppy River is a minor river in the Florida Big Bend. A tributary of the Ochlockonee River, it is approximately in lengthBoning, Charles R. 2007. ''Florida's Rivers''. Sarasota, Florida: Pineapple Press, Inc. and nearly entirely within ...

, northwest of St. Marks. *1839-1842 - Fort Macomb or Fort Number One M was located north of St. Marks. *1839 - Fort Number Two (M) was located on the St. Marks River just south of the unincorporated area of Rose, Florida. *1839 - Fort St. Augustine was located northeast of Fort Macomb.

Early Statehood

On March 3, 1845, Florida joined the Union as the 27th state and Leon County became the capital county of Florida.

Antebellum

From 1850 to 1865, Leon County was the wealthiest county in Florida, a " cotton kingdom"; it ranked 5th out of all of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

counties in the production of

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...

from the 20 major plantations growing 200 bales or more. Another source states that Leon County led the state in cotton production. In the 1840, 1850, and 1860 censuses, Leon County had the highest population in Florida, followed by adjacent Gadsden,

Jefferson Jefferson may refer to: Names * Jefferson (surname) * Jefferson (given name) People * Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), third president of the United States * Jefferson (footballer, born 1970), full name Jefferson Tomaz de Souza, Brazilian foo ...

, and

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

counties; this was documented slightly earlier, in the Florida Constitution of 1838, which gave Leon County 6 electors, more than any other county. (Adjacent

was second, with 4.) Leon County's population in 1860 was 73% African American, almost all of them slaves. (Starting in 1861, all free blacks had to register with the county and pay $1 for a permit; each required a local white sponsor, who could be sued for actions of the negro, as negroes could not be sued.) As was true elsewhere in the

South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

, the value of those slaves far exceeded the value of all the land in the county. Leon County had more slaves than any other county in Florida, and therefore it was the wealthiest county in Florida. Leon County was the center of the slave trade in Florida.

1860s

The Civil War

Florida seceded from the Union January 10, 1861, and sided with the Confederacy. A vast number of men from Leon County served as officers and enlisted men in

companies A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared go ...

that served as far north as Gettysburg. Officers included George Taliaferro Ward, George Washington Scott, Patrick Houston, and Frederick L. Villepigue. Houston and Villepigue headed the Kilcrease Light Artillery. The only battle of the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

within Leon County took place on March 6, 1865, at the

Battle of Natural Bridge The Battle of Natural Bridge was fought during the American Civil War in what is now Woodville, Florida near Tallahassee on March 6, 1865. A small group of Confederate troops and volunteers, which included teenagers from the nearby Florida Mil ...

with the small Confederate forces of around 1,000 men, including students from the

West Florida Seminary The history of Florida State University dates to the 19th century and is deeply intertwined with the history of education in Florida, education in the state of Florida and in the city of Tallahassee, Florida, Tallahassee. Florida State University, ...

, under Sam Jones going up against

John Newton John Newton (; – 21 December 1807) was an English evangelical Anglican cleric and slavery abolitionist. He had previously been a captain of slave ships and an investor in the slave trade. He served as a sailor in the Royal Navy (after forc ...

and his 2nd and 99th U.S. Colored Infantry units. Leon County supported the effort with three military encampments. These were Camp Leon, Camp Lay, and Camp Mary Davis, all established around 1861.

Reconstruction

The Southern Homestead Act of 1866 allowed the opening of government lands in

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

, and Florida for

homesteading Homesteading is a lifestyle of self-sufficiency. It is characterized by subsistence agriculture, home preservation of food, and may also involve the small scale production of textiles, clothing, and craft work for household use or sale. Pur ...

and with help from the

Freedmen's Bureau The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, usually referred to as simply the Freedmen's Bureau, was an agency of early Reconstruction, assisting freedmen in the South. It was established on March 3, 1865, and operated briefly as a ...

, freedmen could secure land. Thus they flocked to Florida, mainly from Georgia and the Carolinas, to take advantage of the offer of

farmland Agricultural land is typically land ''devoted to'' agriculture, the systematic and controlled use of other forms of lifeparticularly the rearing of livestock and production of cropsto produce food for humans. It is generally synonymous with bot ...

in Leon County.

The 1880s and 1890s

Leon County resident and

owner

William D. Bloxham William Dunnington Bloxham (July 9, 1835 – March 15, 1911) was the 13th and 17th Governor of Florida in two non-consecutive terms. Prior to his first term as governor, he served in the Florida House of Representatives. In between his terms as ...

served as governor from 1881 to 1885 and took office again from 1897 to 1901.

The Carrabelle, Tallahassee and Georgia Railroad

The

Carrabelle, Tallahassee and Georgia Railroad :: The Georgia, Florida and Alabama RailroadSources differ on the use of ''Railroad'' vs ''Railway'' in the official name of the company. (the GF&A), known as the Sumatra Leaf Route, and colloquially as the Gopher, Frog & Alligator was a -long rai ...

began service during the 1880s with service from the Gulf coast to southern Georgia.

20th century

1900 through 1920

Cattle & dairy

Around 1900,

dairy A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on ...

ing had developed from a sideline way of making money in the previous 35–40 years to a large business concern making Leon County the leading county and first in

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. Immune factors and immune ...

production by 1900.

Butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 80% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread, melted as a condiment ...

was a primary product while the

skim milk Skimmed milk (British English), or skim milk (American English), is made when all the milkfat is removed from whole milk. It tends to contain around 0.1% fat. Background Historically, skimmed milk was used for fattening pigs, and was recommended ...

was fed to hogs. By 1916,

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

was receiving milk for

ice cream Ice cream is a sweetened frozen food typically eaten as a snack or dessert. It may be made from milk or cream and is flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit such as str ...

via the Seaboard Railway and by 1918 approximately 1000 gallons of milk left Leon County for production plants in Jacksonville. The dairy industry became a $100,000 a year

agribusiness Agribusiness is the industry, enterprises, and the field of study of value chains in agriculture and in the bio-economy, in which case it is also called bio-business or bio-enterprise. The primary goal of agribusiness is to maximize profit w ...

. The Leon County Dairy Association was organized in 1918. The 1920 census showed Leon County as having 7885

dairy cow Dairy cattle (also called dairy cows) are cattle bred for the ability to produce large quantities of milk, from which dairy products are made. Dairy cattle generally are of the species ''Bos taurus''. Historically, little distinction was mad ...

s with milk production at 589,350 gallons. Tallahassee's first milk plant was opened by 1923 and there were 25 operational dairies in Leon. Just prior to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, 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. Production of milk was now worth $1,284,536. In the 1880s, Robert F. Bradford, grandson of Richard Bradford of

Water Oak Plantation Water Oak Plantation was a small cotton plantation of located in northern Leon County, Florida, United States established by Richard Bradford. Location Water Oak was located in the general area of Bradfordville. Adjacent plantations: *Pine H ...

, had given up on cotton and had devoted to livestock and dairying. By 1911 Robert F. Bradford, Jr. joined the business with 100

Jersey cattle The Jersey is a British breed of small dairy cattle from Jersey, in the British Channel Islands. It is one of three Channel Island cattle breeds, the others being the Alderney – now extinct – and the Guernsey. It is highly productive – ...

which fed along the shores of

. The farm was one of the first in the county to have

silo A silo (from the Greek σιρός – ''siros'', "pit for holding grain") is a structure for storing bulk materials. Silos are used in agriculture to store fermented feed known as silage, not to be confused with a grain bin, which is used t ...

s. Dairying halted in 1935 when the farm was sold to Lloyd Griscom of

Luna Plantation Luna Plantation was a quail hunting plantation located in northeastern Leon County, Florida, United States established by Lloyd C. Griscom. Lloyd C. Griscom was the son of Clement A. Griscom from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Clement was a ship ...

. Bradford continued with 75 cows and continued milk operations west of Tallahassee as the Leon County Milk Company.

1940 through 1960

Beef cattle

The 1940s through 1960s saw an increase in the raising of

beef cattle Beef cattle are cattle raised for meat production (as distinguished from dairy cattle, used for milk production). The meat of mature or almost mature cattle is mostly known as beef. In beef production there are three main stages: cow-calf operat ...

in Leon County. Some of the increase can be attributed to St. Joe Paper Company as well as some game plantation owners. Among some of Leon County's beef producers were Payne H. Midyette, Sr. and Payne H. Midyette, Jr. who had on Miccosukee Road. In 1939, Payne Sr. introduced the first

purebred Purebreds are "cultivated varieties" of an animal species achieved through the process of selective breeding. When the lineage of a purebred animal is recorded, that animal is said to be "pedigreed". Purebreds breed true-to-type which means the p ...

Hereford Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...

herd into the county. Tallahassee City Manager Arvah Hopkins and brother William Hopkins, a State Attorney, had 300 to 500 head on . Both were grandsons of

Goodwood Plantation In 1824, in appreciation of the enormous service rendered to this country by the Marquis de Lafayette during the Revolutionary War, Congress voted to grant him a full township in the Florida Territory. This tract was called the Lafayette Land Gr ...

owner Arvah Hopkins.Paisley, Clifton; From Cotton To Quail, University of Florida Press, c1968. pp. 115-117 Bull Headley of

Bull Run Plantation Bull Run Plantation was a private estate owned by Julien C. (Bull) Headley (Heed-Lee) located in Leon County, Florida, United States. History Originally a large part of Water Oak Plantation owned by Frances C. Griscom, Headley purchased all bu ...

ran 500 head of cattle.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:History Of Leon County, Florida