The forced-labor farms of Leon County were numerous and vast. Leon County,

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 ...

, was a hub of

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production. From the 1820s through 1850s Leon County's fertile red clay soils and long growing season attracted cotton planters from

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and

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, among other states as well as countries abroad.

Enslaved workers in Leon County

For some time before the early stages of the

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Leon County was the fifth-largest producer of cotton in Georgia and Florida. Another source states that Leon County led the state in cotton production. Because of this, in 1840, there were only 654 adult white males, but 3980 people "engaged in agriculture". In 1860, 73% of the population of Leon County consisted of enslaved black persons; as was true elsewhere in the

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

, the value of those enslaved persons far exceeded the value of all the land in the county. Leon County had more enslaved people than any other county in Florida,Julia Floyd Smith, ''Slavery and Plantation Growth in Antebellum Florida 1821-1860'', Gainesville, University of Florida Press, 1973, , Appendix B, "Excerpts from County Tax Books in Florida Showing Ownership in Acreage and Slaves", pp. 213-222. and it was, therefore, the wealthiest county in Florida.Smith, p. 140. It was also the center of Florida's slave trade.

Forced-labor farms in 1860

Note: Value = plantation value in

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s. TA = total area. IA = improved area. UA = unimproved area. Corn = in bushels. Cotton = bales of cotton Note: Value = Plantation Value. IA = Improved Acres. UA = Unimproved Acres. Enslaved People = Number of persons enslaved. Machinery = Worth of machinery. Livestock = Worth of livestock.

Enslaved workers in Leon County

Forced-labor farms in 1860

See also

References

Further reading