Miccosukee is a small

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) in northeastern

Leon County, Florida Leon County () is a County (United States), county in the Florida Panhandle, Panhandle of the U.S. state of Florida. It was named after the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population w ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The population was 383 at the time of the 2020 census. It is part of the Tallahassee metropolitan area. It is located at the junction of County Roads 59 and 151. Miccosukee was a major center of the

Miccosukee The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians ( /ˌmɪkəˈsuki/, MIH-kə-SOO-kee) is a federally recognized Native American tribe in the U.S. state of Florida. Together with the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma and the Seminole Tribe of Florida, it is one of ...

tribe, one of the tribes of the developing

Seminole The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, ...

nation, during the 18th century.

Geography

Miccosukee, like other unincorporated areas in northern Leon County, is an area of rolling hills dotted with ponds and lakes. The large,

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

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, F ...

borders the eastern edge of the community.

History

The town of Miccosukee or Mikasuki was settled by members of the

tribe, a group of Creek origin who had settled in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

and became identified with the developing

nation. It was mapped by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

in 1778 and originally called Mikasuki with 60 homes, 28 families, and a town square. It was the capital of the short-lived

State of Muskogee The State of Muskogee was a proclaimed sovereign nation located in Florida, founded in 1799 and led by William Augustus Bowles, a Loyalist veteran of the American Revolutionary War who lived among the Muscogee, and envisioned uniting the Nati ...

. At the time of the 1818 American invasion of

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

, during the

First Seminole War The Seminole Wars (also known as the Florida Wars) were a series of three military conflicts between the United States and the Seminoles that took place in Florida between about 1816 and 1858. The Seminoles are a Native American nation which co ...

, "

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...

and his men were stunned by the sheer size of the Miccosukee town. Having been occupied since before the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

, it was a town of long-standing permanence." Jackson burned over 300 homes before departing on April 5, 1818. Whites estimated there were up to 500 warriors, and "the town was the largest in Florida at the time". In 1831, a U.S. Post Office was built along with schools, churches, and stores. Eventually the area, along with most of Leon County, became a center of cotton plantations (see Plantations of Leon County). Prior to the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, 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.J ...

, Miccosukee had three cotton plantations nearby, Miccosukee Plantation, Ingleside Plantation and Blakely Plantation. After the

, the area reverted to farms and by 1887, the Florida Central Railroad served Miccosukee. During the 1890s, wealthy industrialists bought large tracts of land for

quail Quail is a collective name for several genera of mid-sized birds generally placed in the order Galliformes. The collective noun for a group of quail is a flock, covey, or bevy. Old World quail are placed in the family Phasianidae, and New ...

hunting plantations or estates removing thousands of acres of land from agricultural production. Miccosukee thrived until the

boll weevil The boll weevil (''Anthonomus grandis'') is a species of beetle in the family Curculionidae. The boll weevil feeds on cotton buds and flowers. Thought to be native to Central Mexico, it migrated into the United States from Mexico in the late 19 ...

infestation of 1918.

The Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank an ...

(1929-1935) destroyed Leon County's agriculture and the railroad pulled out in the mid-1940s.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 383 people, 120 households, and 70 families residing in the CDP.

Historical places

* Concord School (Miccosukee) was built in 1894 in the town of Miccosukee for grades 1-6. It was closed in 1985. The building is still used for Miccosukee's Head Start program. * Van Brunt-Morris House just north of the junction of State Road 59 and Moccasin Gap Road. * Averitt-Winchester House * Miccosukee Methodist Church * Strickland-Herold House, located northwest of the junction of State Road 59 and Moccasin Gap Road.

Civil War history

During the

, soldiers from Miccosukee enlisted in Company K, 5th Florida Infantry and Company B, 1st Florida Cavalry. The following soldiers are interred at Runners Cemetery and other locations. *Pvt. Walter H. Averitt - Born December 24, 1841 in North Carolina
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*3rd Lieutenant Walter Richard Blake, Jr. - Born January 13, 1836 in Leon County
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*2nd Corporal C. Washington Branch - Born 1838 in Leon Count
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*Captain Isham Miles Blake - Born May 3, 1837 in Leon County
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*Pvt. Leonidas Byrd - Birth date unknown
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*Pvt. John Alexander Cromartie - Born August 14, 1834 in

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

br>More details
*4th Sergeant Jesse Sinclair Montford - Born June 13, 1829 in Leon County
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Political

Community facilities

*Concord School - Served as a Leon County elementary school until it closed in 1985. The school yard now serves as a county park. *The Miccosukee Community Center is administered by the Tallahassee-Leon County Parks and Recreation Department. The center is used for a variety of activities including monthly "Senior Outreach" days. *Reeves Landing is a public boat launching facility on Lake Miccosukee just east of the village.

Education

All of the county is in the Leon County School District. Miccosukee Youth Education Foundation provides assistance.

Fire & Rescue

''Miccosukee Volunteer Fire & Rescue'' was established in 1978 with the merger of Miccosukee Land Cooperative and Miccosukee in 1979. The department has 3 fire stations: Cromartie Road Station, Co-op Station and Heatherwood Station, each with a pumper truck. The Tallahassee Fire Department also provides support.

References

*Paisley, Clifton; ''From Cotton To Quail'', University of Florida Press, c1968.

External links

1940 map of MiccosukeeMiccosukee Land Co-opPhoto of Reeves Fish Camp, Reeves Landing, Lake Miccosukee
{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Leon County, Florida Tallahassee metropolitan area Capitals of former nations History of Leon County, Florida Unincorporated communities in Florida Former populated places in Leon County, Florida