Water Oak Plantation was a small

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 ...

of located in northern Leon County,

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 ...

, United States established by Richard Bradford.

Location

Water Oak was located in the general area of Bradfordville. Adjacent plantations: *

Pine Hill Plantation Pine Hill Plantation was a large cotton plantation of established between 1829 and 1832 in northern Leon County, Florida, by Edward Bradford. It touched the southeast arm of Lake Iamonia. The area today is known as Bradfordville. Location Adjace ...

to the east *

Walnut Hill Plantation Walnut Hill Plantation was a small cotton plantation of located in northern Leon County, Florida, United States owned by Thomas Anderson Bradford. Location Walnut Hill was located in the general area of Bradfordville near William Bradford's Ed ...

, Water Oak Plantation being very close to Walnut Hill

Plantation specifics

The Leon County Florida 1860 Agricultural Census shows that Water Oak Plantation had the following: * Improved Land: * Unimproved Land: * Cash value of plantation: $18,400 * Cash value of farm implements/machinery: $1500 * Cash value of farm animals: $3,500 * Number of slaves: 65 *Bushels of corn: 2500 *Bales of cotton: 130

The founder

Richard Henry Bradford born November 15, 1800, in

Enfield Enfield may refer to: Places Australia * Enfield, New South Wales * Enfield, South Australia ** Electoral district of Enfield, a state electoral district in South Australia, corresponding to the suburb ** Enfield High School (South Australia) ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. The Bradford brothers took turns hosting July 4 celebrations with massive barbecues for their slaves. When it was Richard's turn to host the celebration he included fishing parties on

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 ...

. No whites were allowed to attend these events. During the Civil War, Richard was captain of a company of the 1st Florida Regiment. He left with his regiment for

Pensacola, Florida 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 ...

, in the fall of 1861. On the night of October 9, 1861, while leading an attack column in the assault on Federal positions during the

Battle of Santa Rosa Island The Battle of Santa Rosa Island (October 9, 1861) was an unsuccessful Confederate attempt to take Union-held Fort Pickens on Santa Rosa Island, Florida. Background Santa Rosa Island is a 40-mile barrier island in the U.S. state of Florida, t ...

, on

Santa Rosa Island, Florida Santa Rosa Island is a 40-mile (64 km) barrier island located in the U.S. state of Florida, thirty miles (50 km) east of the Alabama state border. The communities of Pensacola Beach, Navarre Beach, and Okaloosa Island are located on ...

, he was shot and killed by a sentinel of the

6th New York Volunteer Infantry The 6th New York Infantry Regiment, also called "Wilson's Zouaves", was a unit of the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was organized at New York City on May 25, 1861. The Regiment was composed of 5 initial companies of A, B, C, and D. ...

. His body was returned for a hero’s funeral, and was buried in the cemetery at

. He could well have been the first Floridian killed in Confederate action.

The 1900s

When Clement A. Griscom died on October 19, 1916,

Horseshoe Plantation Horseshoe Plantation is an cotton plantation located in northern Leon County, Florida and established around 1840 by Dr. Edward Bradford, a planter from Enfield, North Carolina. It is currently owned and maintained by Frederic C. Hamilton. M ...

was divided up and part sold.

Lloyd C. Griscom Lloyd Carpenter Griscom (November 4, 1872 – February 8, 1959) was an American lawyer, diplomat, and newspaper publisher. Early life Lloyd Griscom was born on November 4, 1872, at Riverton, New Jersey. He was the son of shipping magnate Clement ...

received on the west side naming it

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 shippi ...

while

Frances C. Griscom Frances Canby Griscom (19 April 1879 – March 30, 1973) was an American amateur golfer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States and part-time resident of Tallahassee, Florida. Griscom won the 1900 U.S. Women's Amateur held at Shinnec ...

, a sportswoman, received of the old plantation to the east and named it Water Oak Plantation. Frances Griscom was the 1900

United States Women's Amateur Golf Championship The U.S. Women's Amateur is the leading golf tournament in the United States for female amateur golfers. It is played annually and is one of the 13 United States national golf championships organized by the United States Golf Association (USGA). F ...

.History of the McBride School
/ref> In 1951 Griscom sold a large part of Water Oak to J.C. (Bull) Headley, a recent transplant from

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

. Griscom retained Water Oak with a few hundred acres of land. Headley turned his property in to

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 ...

, a luxurious farm which grew in agricultural output. Headley ran several hundred head of

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

and continued with operations as a hunting plantation. Headley built a $150,000

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

style

brick A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...

home overlooking Lake Iamonia. In 1964 Headley sold his hunting lodge and to

Gillis Long Gillis William Long (May 4, 1923 – January 20, 1985) was an American politician and lawyer who served as a U.S. representative from Louisiana. He was a member of the Long family and was the nephew of former governors Huey Long and Earl Long a ...

, a Congressman from

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 assistant secretary of the

Office of Economic Opportunity The Office of Economic Opportunity was the agency responsible for administering most of the War on Poverty programs created as part of United States President Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society legislative agenda. It was established in 1964 as an i ...

under President

Lyndon Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

. Other hunters, golfers, and fishing enthusiasts joined in and the property became

Kinhega Lodge Kinhega Lodge was a hunting and fishing plantation located in northern Leon County, Florida, Leon County, Florida, United States on Lake Iamonia. From the 1830s through 1866 the land was part of the cotton plantation known as Water Oak Plantation ...

References

*Paisley, Clifton; ''From Cotton To Quail'', University of Florida Press, c1968. {{coord, 30.554, -84.225, display=title Plantations in Leon County, Florida Cotton plantations in Florida