Tallahassee
When Spain ceded Florida to the USA the two biggest cities were the Spanish capital of St Augustine and the former British capital of West Florida, Pensacola. Both had strong claims to be capital of the new territory. In 1823 as a compromise it was proposed that a new capital should be built roughly halfway between the two cities on a former Indian settlement known as Tallahassee. The city was formally founded in 1824 as territorial capital and the county seat of Leon County. Soon plantations sprang up around it. In the Civil War, Tallahassee remained throughout in Confederate hands, unlike St Augustine and Pensacola. The only Union attack at the Battle of Natural Bridge in 1865 was repulsed by residents, mainly old men and young boys. The plantations struggled after the end of slavery and the main industry of Tallahassee is now government.
Brokaw-McDougall House
The Brokaw-McDougall House was built in or around 1856 for Peres Bonney Brokaw. At the time Tallahassee was still very small so while the place house was built was then the outskirts of the city, it is within a short walk of the downtown area. Brokaw ran a prosperous downtown livery stable business as well as serving in the city government, the state legislature and in the Confederate Cavalry. His daughter married Alexander McDougall, from Scotland. The house remained in the same family until 1973 when it was sold to the State of Florida. It is now used as a conference and event site.
Knott House Museum
The Knott House was built around 1843 for Thomas and Catherine Gamble Hagner, possibly by local free black builder George Proctor. The original house had six rooms and a side hall, about half its current size. About 1853 Catherine Hagner added six more rooms to the house. At the end of the Civil War, Union General Edward M. McCook occupied the house and read from its front steps the Emancipation Proclamation that freed the slaves of North Florida. The Knott family acquired the house in 1928, adding the Classical Revival portico to the front of the building. The Historic Tallahassee Preservation Board accepted the house to operate as a museum in 1986. It has been restored to its 1928 appearance and is open to the public.
McNair-Black Farmhouse, Big Bend Farm, Tallahassee Museum
South west of the city on the shores of Lake Bradford is an Open Air Museum. Or is it a zoo or maybe a nature park? The Tallahassee Museum is actually all three. The zoo is home to species such as the rare Red Wolf and Florida Panther. Our visit was on the way back to Orlando to catch an evening flight back to the UK, so we did not have time to explore the zoo or nature park. We did visit Big Bend Farm, an 1880s farm created from 19th and 20th century buildings that have been moved to the museum and and restored. The farm comes complete with farm animals and around it are re-constructions of rural industries that would have supported the farm, such a Blacksmiths Shop. Click Tab 2 to see the kitchen of the farmhouse.
Trinity United Methodist Church & First Presbyterian Church
This view across Tallahassee from the Doubletree Hotel shows two churches founded in the early days of Tallahassee. On the left with the taller spire is the Trinity United Methodist Church, which was founded in 1824. Despite its classical appearance, the church building dates back only to 1964. The First Presbyterian Church in the centre of the picture was founded in 1832. Its Greek revival style sanctuary dates back to 1838 and is the oldest public building in Tallahassee. In its early days the sanctuary served not just as a church but also as a refuge in the even of attack. Rifle slots were built into the foundation walls to defend it against attack.
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Bellevue Plantation House, Tallahassee Museum
The days before the Civil War when Tallahassee was surrounded by plantations are remembered via the Bellevue Plantation House which has been relocated to the Tallahassee Museum. It was owned by Catherine Murat, George Washington’s great-grandniece, from 1854 until her death in 1867. Alongside the original house are two reconstructed buildings; the plantation kitchen and a slave cabin.
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© Mike Elsden 1981 - 2025
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