Tallahassee

“Tallahassee” is an Apalachee Indian

word which means “old town.”

Andrew Jackson convinced President Monroe that Florida would be an asset to the United States. He was the United States Commissioner and Governor of East and West Florida: March 10, 1821 to November 12, 1821.

He became the 7th president of the United States in 1829.

Before Florida became a state…

The Union Bank of Tallahassee was established around 1830. It is the state's oldest surviving bank building.

Florida became a state on March 3, 1845. The Capitol opened the same year.

Front of the Old Capitol1891

The Old Capitol1902

The Capitol - Today

First Mayor of Tallahassee

Francis W. Eppes was the grandson of President Thomas Jefferson. After moving from

Virginia with his family to near Tallahassee, Florida in 1829, he established a cotton plantation. In 1856 Eppes donated land and

money for the first university here – now known as Florida

State University.

Tallahassee Police Department was started in 1841. It is the 3rd oldest police Department in the United States.

Photo: 1937

In 1850, Tallahassee had at least 56 plantations including:

Bannerman PlantationMeridian Road

Improved Land: 700 acresUnimproved Land: 800 acresNumber of slaves: 67Bushels of corn: 4,000Bales of cotton: 120

-Owned by John Winthrop

Improved Land: 2,590 acres Unimproved Land: 1,400 acres Number of slaves: 71Bushels of corn: 2,200Bales of cotton: 204

Improved Land: 950 acres Unimproved Land: 970 acres Number of slaves: 70

Barrow Hill Plantation – Leon High School

Francis EppesPlantation

Improved Land: 3,150 acresUnimproved Land: 1,000 acres Number of slaves: 232

La GrangePlantation

•Improved Land: 825 acres •Unimproved Land: 564 acres• Number of slaves: 80•Bushels of corn: 4,000•Bales of cotton: 352

William Bailey Plantation – Killearn Estates/Ox Bottom

The Knott House Museum served as the headquarters for the Union Army during the Civil War.

Civil War It was also from the steps of the Knott House on Park Avenue that the Emancipation Proclamation was read by Brig. Gen. Edward McCook on May 20, 1865, declaring freedom for all slaves in the Florida Panhandle.

Spanish American War - 1898

Group portrait of Colonel Theodore Roosevelt and other high ranking officials of the 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry Regiment: Tampa, Florida (1898)

St. John Episcopal Church1903

St. John Episcopal ChurchToday

Downtown Tallahassee

1930’s

Downtown TallahasseeNOW

Winthrop children on horseback with the Merritts

1890

Tallahassee Railroad Company's mule drawn car proceeding south between Pensacola and Jefferson (1894)

Downtown TallahasseeNOW

Geronimo and fellow Apache Indian prisoners on their way to Florida by train

(1886)

RUTH LAW FLIES INTO DAYTONA

Ruth Law bought her first aircraft from Orville Wright in 1912. In 1917, she became the first woman pilot to fly for the US Army.

One-Room SchoolhouseEastpoint, Florida - 1916

Typical pioneer home inEastpoint, Florida

1800’s

First Leon County Jail1885

Jackson Bluff Road -1885

Jackson Bluff Road - NOW