Tallahassee, Florida

:For The Mountain Goats' album, see Tallahassee.

History

The name "Tallahassee" is a Muskogean Indian word often translated as "old fields," or "old town." This likely stems from the Creek (later called Seminole) Indians that migrated into this region in the 18th century recognizing that it had previously been occupied by the powerful Apalachee Indians, who cultivated large fields of crops in the region's red clay hills. The Apalachee's success as agriculturalists did not go unnoticed by the Spanish, who sent missionaries to the area throughout the 17th century. Several mission sites were established with the aim of procuring food and labor for the colony at St. Augustine. One of the most important mission sites, Mission San Luis de Apalachee, has been partially reconstructed as a state historic site in Tallahassee.

Related Topics:
Muskogean - Creek - Seminole) - Apalachee

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The Spanish missionaries were not the first Europeans to visit Tallahassee, however. The Spanish explorer, Hernando de Soto spent the winter of 1538 - 1539 encamped at the Apalachee village of Anhaica, which he had taken by force. De Soto's brutal treatment of the natives was fiercely resisted, and by the following spring De Soto was eager to move on. The site of Anhaica, near present day Myers Park, was relocated by Florida archaeologist, B. Calvin Jones, in 1987.

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The founding Tallahassee was largely a matter of convenience. In 1821, Florida was ceded by Spain to the United States. A territorial government was established, but the impracticalities of alternately meeting in St. Augustine and Pensacola ? the two largest cities in the territory at the time ? led territorial governor William Pope Duval to appoint two commissioners to establish a more central meeeting place.

Related Topics:
St. Augustine - Pensacola

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In October of 1823, John Lee Williams of Pensacola and Dr. William Simmons of St. Augustine selected the former Indian settlement of Tallahassee (roughly midway between the two cities) as a suitable place. Their decision was also based on it's location near a beautiful waterfall ? now referred to as the Capital Cascades ? and the old capital of the Apalachee chiefdom. In March of the following year it was formally proclaimed the capital. Florida did not become a state, however, until 1845 (Tebeau:122)

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On the 1st of November, 1823, John Lee Williams (1823:22-23) wrote to Congressional Delegate (and later Florida Governor), Richard Keith Call, about the location of the capital:

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"Doct. Simmons has agreed that the Site should be fixed near the old fields abandoned by the Indians after Jackson's invasion, but has not yet determined whether between the ... old fields, or on a fine high lawn about a mile W. In both spots the water is plenty and good."

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Tallahassee was prominent during the 2000 United States Presidential Election as the capital of the state whose votes were disputed.

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Tallahassee was the only Confederate state capital not captured by Union forces during the American Civil War.

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