Choosing the Capital

Choosing the Capital. Cascades Park. , In 1827 when Florida became a U.S. territory, the ports of Pensacola in the west and St. Augustine in the east were its largest towns. The hardships of travel between them led to the decision to select a halfway point for the capital., Florida's progression from territory to statehood represents the early stirrings of the nation's "manifest destiny." A flood of American settlers from Georgia and the Carolines created pressure for Spain to cede Florida to the United States in 1819. As Thomas Jefferson wrote, the immigration to Florida was the "means of delivering to us peaceably what must otherwise cost us a war.”, In 1823, commissioners explored what was then the middle of Florida and recommended a high, healthy and well watered site for the new capital. The territorial council adopted the name Tallahassee, a Seminole word meaning "old town'" to pay homage to the rich Apalachee Indian history within the region., As the population of south Florida grew, Florida voters and the legislature defeated repeated attempts to move the capital to a location more central to modern day Florida, The debate ended in 1971 with approval for construction of a new Capitol in Tallahassee., (Captions) , Map of Florida territory. State Archives of Florida, The 1826 Capitol replaced a log cabin. In1845, the state moved into a new building that It expanded over the years. In 1978, the present 22-story Capitol opened. The previous Capitol, restored to its 1902 appearance, is a museum. State Archives of Florida