Originally part of Escambia and later Gadsden Counties, Leon was created by the territorial legislature in 1824. Named for Juan Ponce de Leon, discoverer of Florida, it became antebellum Florida's most prosperous and populous county. Cotton thrived . . . — — Map (db m131866) HM
Throughout the 1950s-1970s, large-scale, nonviolent demonstrations by audacious students attending Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), Florida State University, and the University of Florida, as well as local high school . . . — — Map (db m135553) HM
The Jacksonville, Pensacola and Mobile Railroad Company Freight Depot, built in 1858, is one of the oldest railroad buildings in Florida and the oldest still used as a passenger rail station. The one-story depot was built when Tallahassee was the . . . — — Map (db m79550) HM
Green Hill Chaires, along with his brothers, Benjamin and Thomas Peter,
came from Georgia to Tallahassee in the 1820s. Because of federal efforts
to both remove Indigenous people from the newly acquired Florida territory,
and laws legalizing . . . — — Map (db m297503) HM
Fort Braden was established in 1839 as a military outpost during the Second Seminole War (1835-1842). At the end of the war the fort was abandoned, but the small farming community that had developed nearby continued. A school in the Fort Braden area . . . — — Map (db m79475) HM
The community of Chaires was established in the 1820s during Floridas Territorial Period (1821-1845). The community is named after Green Hill Chaires, who, along with his two brothers, Benjamin and Thomas Peter, came from Georgia and established . . . — — Map (db m166852) HM
The Bradfordville School is a one-room school house built c. 1884-1893, where many generations of children, in elementary to eighth grade classes, received their primary education. It is an example of one-room schools once scattered throughout the . . . — — Map (db m291049) HM
"The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education." - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Where We Are
The Levy Park neighborhood was built . . . — — Map (db m245734) HM
Juan Ponce de León (c. 1474-1521), for whom Leon County, Florida, is named, was a Spanish explorer and adventurer. In April 1513, he made the first documented European landing on Florida's Atlantic coast, between present-day St. Augustine and . . . — — Map (db m289644) HM
This monument is erected by his fellow citizens of Leon County, Florida, as a testimonial of their high esteem for his character and public services. The memory of the hero is the treasure of his country. He was born July 10, 1823 and was killed . . . — — Map (db m73046) HM
In 1778 the British mapped this once thriving community, originally called Mikasuki, with sixty houses, a square, 28 families and 70 gunmen. The village was first settled by Native Americans of Creek descent who were often in armed conflict with . . . — — Map (db m167466) HM
Leon County Residents
Killed in the War on Terror
Operation Enduring Freedom
Mathew Bourgeois, CPO – USN ☆ 03/27/2002 •
Jerry Pope II, Ens –USN ☆ 10/17/2002 •
John Tinsley, Capt. –USA ☆ 08/12/2009 • . . . — — Map (db m272445) WM
Side 1
Governor William Dunnington Bloxham House 1844
This Federal-style building was constructed in 1844 by Richard A. Shine, a prominent builder and mason who constructed the south wing of Florida's Capitol in 1845. In 1881, . . . — — Map (db m79566) HM
Not "Old Lincoln" or the "Original Lincoln" or "Historic Lincoln," just Lincoln! Lincoln High, Our Alma Mater, Dear to Us You'll Be. In Our Hearts We Will Always Cherish Memories of Thee. Lincoln was the jewel of the Frenchtown community. The school . . . — — Map (db m229689) HM
This area of Tallahassee was once the location of a fairground with a one-half mile horse-racing track. In 1866. the estate of Judge Thomas Baltzell sold 258 acres to John Armstrong Craig. As part of the old Craig Place. John Armstrong Craig and . . . — — Map (db m245730) HM
"Smokey Hollow was our home, the place from which we went forth with lessons and discipline...ready for life. It prepared our feet and minds to leave...but not our hearts!" - Elmer Ash, former resident
“Our parents insisted that we had to . . . — — Map (db m230813) HM
Government work, the capital's leading industry, has always textured the fabric of Tallahassee. Until the mid-20th century, the legislative session rejuvenated the otherwise sleepy town as local residents filled temporary jobs and the city throbbed . . . — — Map (db m212094) HM
Over the past century, Tallahassee has grown substantially. Leon County's population doubled to nearly 300,000 between 1980 and 2000, while roads continue to widen and the two major universities expand in size and number every year.
Tallahassee . . . — — Map (db m212119) HM
John Gilmore Riley was born in 1857, the son of Sarah and James Riley. He was not formally educated, but was instructed by his Aunt Henrietta. Riley became principal of Lincoln Academy, Tallahassee’s first local high school for African Americans in . . . — — Map (db m79583) HM
Lincoln School served as the primary public education institution for African Americans in Leon County from 1869 to 1969. Established in 1869 as one of only two Freedman's Bureau schools in Florida to educate newly freed slaves. It was named after . . . — — Map (db m110972) HM
Side 1
Father James Page was born in 1808, in Richmond, Virginia. Born enslaved to John Parkhill, (1786-1855) James Page migrated to Middle Florida along with the Parkhill family in 1827, three years after Tallahassee was founded as territorial . . . — — Map (db m263105) HM
Julian Edwin "Cannonball" Adderley (1928-1975)
Nathaniel Carlyle "Nat" Adderley (1931-2000)
Brothers Cannonball Adderley (alto saxophone) and Nat Adderley (cornet) were two of the most important jazz musicians in history. Born . . . — — Map (db m230644) HM
The Civil War brought with it great strides for freedom and equality for American slaves in Tallahassee, the official news of freedom came on May 25, 1865 with the reading of the Emancipation Proclamation outside the Knott House.
After freedmen . . . — — Map (db m211846) HM
In the early 20th century, Leon County became more urban as tenant farmers moved to town and increased Tallahassee's
population. City life offered steady employment and modern conveniences, including telephones, electric lights and rail service. . . . — — Map (db m211853) HM
Lynching in America
Between 1877 and 1950, thousands of African Americans were victims of mob violence and lynching across the United States. Following the Civil War, white Southerners fiercely resisted equal rights for African Americans and . . . — — Map (db m186412) HM
As Macomb Street continues its journey north of Carolina Street, it crosses Georgia Street. This area included additional businesses, such as the physicians' offices of Dr. Charles
Stevens and Dr. Millard Williams. Bill Chavis Filling Station was . . . — — Map (db m229168) HM
Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) Boulevard, formally Boulevard Street, was once a place of attractive, well kept houses where the Yellowhairs, Warrens, McPhersons, Sanfords, and Bessie Malachi, owners of private homes lived. The street was lined with . . . — — Map (db m229809) HM
To Rescue from oblivion and perpetuate in the memory of succeeding generations the heroic patriotism of the men of Leon County who perished in the Civil War of 1861 - 1865 This monument is raised by their country women Western Battles Shiloh, . . . — — Map (db m73047) HM
Between 1832 and 1833 the following men applied in Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida, for federal pensions granted for their military service during the American War for Independence Zachariah Gherkins (1757-1845) Served as a Private with . . . — — Map (db m73051) HM WM
William Pinkston Craig, planter and native of Maryland, came to the Manatee River from Leon County, Florida in the early 1840s. Clearing an original 160 acres, he planted sugar cane and corn and built a sugar and grist mill. Its 45 ft. chimney of . . . — — Map (db m92863) HM
The former town of Port Leon, once the terminal for the Tallahassee-St. Marks Railroad, was located across the St. Marks River about two miles south of here.
Reverse:
Port Leon, A Ghost Town Two Miles South
1838-1843 . . . — — Map (db m67270) HM
"Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed." -Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929 - 1968) was an African American Baptist minister, activist, . . . — — Map (db m230574) HM
Munree Cemetery was created in the early 1900s as a burial place for African Americans who lived and worked on plantations in the Welaunee area. The exact origin of the name is unknown, but may have originated from Monrief, the name of a former . . . — — Map (db m199861) HM
As varied as the commercial enterprises were, the community and its activities were just as unique and exciting. Churches played a principal role in the community life of Frenchtown. St. James CME, Bethel African Methodist Episcopal, and Bethel . . . — — Map (db m229203) HM
Dorothy Nash Tookes was born February 19, 1904. She earned degrees
in Education from Talladega College and Nursing Education from Florida
A&M University. In 1930. she married James Tookes and moved into
this home in Tallahassee's Frenchtown . . . — — Map (db m303850) HM
The first Leon Academy opened in 1827, three years after Tallahassee's founding, and operated until the mid-1840s. In 1869, the Leon County Board of Public Instruction established separate schools for whites and blacks. In 1871, the county opened . . . — — Map (db m79541) HM
This 19th century cemetery is one of many known abandoned cemeteries
in Florida. Before 1900, 80 to 100 enslaved and formerly enslaved
persons are believed to have been buried here, many of them children
and post-Civil War workers. Though . . . — — Map (db m290846) HM
(side 1)
Rutgers House
This house was built by George Proctor, a free African American in 1848 for City Councilman and Territorial Treasurer Henry Rutgers. The doors and woodwork were fashioned from mahogany, and other lumber . . . — — Map (db m110896) HM
Leon County
Leon County proudly recognizes the significant contributions
made by local citizens during World War II.
Dale Mabry Field was an important flight training base
for fighter aircraft.
The famed Tuskegee . . . — — Map (db m210474) HM WM
Thin black lines indicate changes in relevance. Between each pair of lines entries are ordered geographically but all have the same relevance.
* Inflectional forms of words are their plurals, singulars, and possessives as well as gramatical tenses and similar variations.
