The Chaires brothers arrived in Tallahassee not too long after it was founded. Benjamin was mostly a planter, however he involved himself in other business dealings. He helped establish a bank in Tallahassee and joined other prominent, wealthy Tallahassee men in establishing a railroad. At one time, he also served as a Justice of the Peace. Above all, though, Benjamin was considered the wealthiest of the early planters in the region. Slaves built a large, three-story home called Verdura on nine thousand acres east of Tallahassee for Chaires. The home was destroyed by fire in 1885, however five columns of the home are still standing today.Green Hill Chaires settled near Lake Lafayette east of Tallahassee. Native Americans attacked his property in 1838 burning his home to the ground. His wife and child died in the fire. He chose not to rebuild in the same location. Instead, Green H. Chaires moved further east and built a new plantation called Evergreen Hills. Chaires also sat on the board of Central Bank, which his brother Benjamin had been a part of founding. Benjamin sat as president of the bank.Benjamin passed away in 1838 leaving his wealth and property to his wife. Thomas Peter, owner of Woodlawn Plantation, passed away in 1842. According to 1850 tax rolls, the Chaires family, including heirs, owned close to 12,000 acres of land and held almost 400 slaves. Green Hill passed away in 1860.

The remains of the Verdura Plantation House of Benjamin Chaires

Chaires is an unincorporated community in eastern Leon County.  It is named after the Chaires family, which includes the brothers Green Hill, Benjamin, and Thomas Peter.  They moved to Florida from North Carolina.  Benjamin had originally settled in Jacksonville and even served on the city commission before making his way to Tallahassee.  They each prospered on plantations to the east of Tallahassee.

Chaires Community

This virtual tour includes numerous streets and communities that include a vast area. Owing to the difficulty to pinpoint a precise single landmark, the creators of this site felt the tour would be most useful as a virtual tour that visualizes this important history. Recognizing that most people use Clio as a travel app, entries were edited to become contributing entries to this interpretive entry. We hope that this will make sure that all entries offer interpretive context and will make this virtual tour/visualization of the city's history more useful as an educational resource.

This virtual tour demonstrates the embedded nature of Antebellum and Confederate heritage throughout Tallahassee in the street and neighborhood names.



Prince Achille Murat moved to the United States in 1822 after being in exile in Austria following his father being deposed and executed in Naples. Murat first settled in Saint Augustine and owned almost 3,000 acres where he planted oranges, sugar cane, and cotton. Around 1825, Marquis de Lafayette persuaded Murat to move to the Tallahassee area. He purchased approximately 900 acres of land in Jefferson County to the east of Tallahassee and established Lipona Plantation. He is reported to have followed the traditional method of moving to Tallahassee that had been established by many of the second and third generation planters from the mid-Atlantic states. He brought all his belongings, including his slaves, from Saint Augustine to clear land and begin planting with the plan to expand his holdings of acreage and slaves to prosper as a planter. In 1826, Murat married Catharine Willis Gray, daughter of prominent Tallahasseean, Byrd Willis, and great-grandniece of George Washington. Reports indicate the Murat’s threw lavish parties at their home at Lipona and entertained the gentry of the area frequently. Supposedly, Murat had the second story of his home constructed in such a way to maximize the number of people that could attend the parties. Unfortunately for the Murat’s, the joyous times did not last. In 1830, Murat chose to return to Europe on an expedition to try and reclaim the throne of Naples. He was unsuccessful and returned to Tallahassee in 1834. Murat then moved with his wife to a site near New Orleans in an attempt to raise sugarcane and practice law. Once again, he was unsuccessful. When he returned to Tallahassee, he mortgaged Lipona in an effort to raise capital. He defaulted on the mortgage in 1839 during the wake of a recession. He and Catharine left Lipona and moved to a smaller plantation known as Econchatti. Murat died in 1847 and was buried in the Saint John’s Episcopal Church cemetery in Tallahassee.

Lipona Road is named for the Jefferson County plantation of the same name owned by Prince Achille Murat, nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte.  Lipona is an anagram of Napoli, the Italian name for Naples where Murat was prince.  His father, Joachim Murat, had been appointed King of Naples by Napoleon.

Lipona Road

Richard Hayward is reported to have held Bellevue in trust for his daughter, Anna Maria, so the ownership of the plantation is not precisely clear. Anna Maria’s husband, Dr. William Tradewell, was killed in the Mexican-American War. Hayward owned multiple plantations in the Tallahassee area. On the 1850 tax rolls for Leon County, Hayward is reported to own almost 1,400 acres between two properties and 63 slaves. Hayward also owned property in town and lost a two-story home to a fire that swept Tallahassee in 1843. Catherine Murat is said to have moved to to Bellevue in the mid-1850s after supposedly spending several years in France under the care of Napoleon III (Prince Murat was Napoleon Bonaparte's nephew as was Napoleon III). He encouraged Catherine to remain in France and offered her a chalet as her home, however she declined in order to return to the United States. Apparently, Napoleon III provided her with a generous annual stipend and she was able to buy Bellevue, ostensibly from Richard Hayward, upon her return and make her home there. This is a plausible explanation for how Catherine came to be at Bellevue as she is listed on the 1860 Slave Census as owning 24 slaves. This may include those slaves still at Econchatti. She continued to spend time at both plantations until her death in 1867. The home at Bellevue was restored and moved to the Tallahassee Museum where it sits as an exhibit today along with a slave cabin from the plantation.

Belle Vue Way is named for one of two likely candidates.  First, Bellevue Plantation, owned by Richard Hayward, was in the vicinity of Belle Vue Way.  The second option is Catherine Murat moved into a cottage she called Bellevue, which was on Hayward’s plantation, after the death of Prince Achille Murat in 1847.  She divided her time between the cottage and the home she had with her husband on their plantation Econchatti until she passed away.

Belle Vue Way

Francis Eppes arrived in Florida from Virginia with his family, household goods, and slaves. He purchased land near the boundary with Georgia and called his plantation L’Eau Noir, Black Water, and planted cotton. In 1835, following the death of his wife and a looming war with Native Americans, Eppes sold Black Water and purchased a new plantation east of Tallahassee near Lake Lafayette as well as a home in the town. By 1850, Eppes had 69 slaves working almost 2,000 acres of land. His plantation was one of the higher valued in the county at that time. Eppes did not limit himself to being a planter. He was also active in the community and served two terms as Intendant (Mayor) of Tallahassee. His first term, 1841-1844 occurred during a time of what was referred to as lawlessness in Tallahassee. It was also a time of Yellow Fever. A massive fire destroyed eight blocks in town during this term for Eppes. He sent out a nationwide call for relief due to the extensive loss to businesses in Tallahassee. This appeal was generally successful. Eppes enacted many city ordinances in hopes of curbing violence in the city. He also appointed “police commissioners” to patrol the city. This is believed to be the beginnings of law enforcement for the City of Tallahassee. Francis Eppes took an active role in promoting Tallahassee. He was one of several members of the community who lobbied the state legislature to locate a seminary of higher learning in Tallahassee. Although the state initially rebuffed these appeals, in 1856 it acceded. In 1857, the State Seminary West of the Suwannee River was physically formed. (After several different iterations and reorganizations became Florida State University.) The first classes met in 1857. Eppes served on the board for eleven years, eight of those as president. Thus, he helped shaped the early contours of the school. After forty years in Tallahassee, Francis Eppes and his son Frank left in 1867 to relocate to Orange County, Florida. There he began planting orange groves. He passed away in 1881 and was interred at Greenwood Cemetery in Orlando.

Eppes Drive is named for Francis Eppes, a grandson of former President of the United States Thomas Jefferson and a native of Virginia.  He moved his family to Florida in 1828 following the death of his grandfather.  He initially purchased land north of Tallahassee near the boundary with Georgia, but moved to Tallahassee when the threat of war with Native Americans grew more serious.

Eppes Drive

Edmund P. Gaines was born in Virginia in 1777. His father, James Gaines, distinguished himself as a militia commander during the American Revolution. Gaines enlisted in the United States Army at age twenty-two and quickly rose through the ranks becoming the commandant of a fort in the Mississippi Territory by 1807. During his time in the Mississippi Territory, he most famously ordered the arrest of former Vice President of the United States, Aaron Burr, on the charge of treason. Not long after this incident, Gaines chose to resign from the U.S. Army and pursue a legal career in order to meet some of his financial obligations. The Secretary of War reserved the right to recall Gaines should war breakout. After the start of the War of 1812, Gaines returned to the army as a colonel. At first, he served under future President of the United States, William Henry Harrison. By early 1814, he had risen to the rank of Brigadier General and had taken command of American forces at Fort Erie. During a British bombardment of the fort, an shell exploded on the roof of Gaines’ command post wounding him severely. He had to leave his command to be treated for his injuries. After his convalescence, he was ordered south to New Orleans to assist Andrew Jackson, however he arrived after the hostilities had ended. After the war, he remained in the south to serve as one of two generals under Jackson’s command.  Between 1815 and 1821, Gaines was the commanding general on the frontier with Florida. During this time, Gaines grew concerned over the actions of a number of Creek “Red Sticks” in response to the enforcement of the Fort Jackson treaty. Many Native Americans disliked the terms of the treaty and did not abide by the ceding of land the treaty forced upon them. Much of the antagonism in the area seemed to be based out of “Negro Fort” on a bluff overlooking the Apalachicola River. The military considered this fort as the base of operations for raids into the southern frontier of the United States. The fort had been built by the British, but remained in Spanish territory, however Spanish authorities did not take any action regarding the inhabitants of the fort. The fort was a free Black community that included some fugitive slaves and Native Americans in its population. Gaines made a report to the War Department that implied the fort and its inhabitants had to be dealt with in some manner so the boundary with Florida would be safe and secure. In order to justify a military action in Spanish sovereign territory, Andrew Jackson depicted the fort as a base of operations for a Native American and fugitive slave insurgency into the southern United States. The real reason was to return fugitive slaves to United States territory and enslave them once again. Gaines set up a base of operations in Georgia approximately 50 miles north of the border with Florida. In addition to American army and navy personnel, Gaines also had Creek allies join the attack on Negro Fort. Over the course of several week in July 1816, Gaines’ forces of Creeks, U.S. Army, and U.S. Navy personnel skirmished and fought with the defenders of Negro Fort. The battle culminated on July 17 when a gunboat fired a volley of cannon fire into the fort and one of the shells exploded in the fort’s gunpowder magazine setting off a massive explosion. The exact death toll is not precise, however estimates range as high as three hundred men, women, and children killed with only a handful of survivors.   Eight years later during the Florida legislative session of 1824, Territorial Governor William Pope DuVal laid out his proposal for Tallahassee’s design. Part of that design was the naming of many of the core streets within several blocks of what he called Capitol Square. One of those streets was Gaines Street named for Edmund P. Gaines to honor his military service to the area. Gaines spent the rest of his military career primarily in the west. He led troops during the Black Hawk War of 1832 and was commander of a military district in the southwest in 1836. At the beginning of the Mexican-American War, Gaines was commanding the Army’s Western Division and remained in that position until his death in 1849.

Gaines Street is named for Edmund P. Gaines, a close friend of Andrew Jackson and commanding general of the army that opened hostilities with Native Americans in North Florida that led to the First Seminole War in 1816.  Gaines had been an infantry officer during the War of 1812.  He received an Act of Congress Gold Medal for his actions at the Siege of Fort Erie (Ontario, Canada) in 1814.  Later he served as a commissioner to the Creek Indians as well as a military district commander during the Black Hawk War and the Second Seminole War.

Gaines Street

William D. Bloxham was born in Tallahassee in 1835. His father, William Bloxham, moved from Virginia to Tallahassee roughly ten years earlier to become a planter. He owned a plantation south of the city. The younger William grew up and attended William and Mary College earning a degree in law. He never practiced law due to poor health. Bloxham returned to Tallahassee and managed some of his father’s plantation operations. By the time he finished college and returned home, Bloxham’s father had acquired more land to the southwest of Tallahassee for plantation acreage. Using the 1850 and 1860 tax rolls as a basis, William Bloxham increased his land from 680 acres to 1,400 acres and increased his slave holdings from 41 to 52.  The year 1856 was significant for Bloxham. He and his mother and father moved into a temporary residence in Tallahassee after his mother fell ill. They wanted her to be able to receive consistent medical care by a physician that was not possible out on the plantation. His mother passed away from what was called consumption now called tuberculosis. The same year, Bloxham entered politics for the first time as a Leon County delegate to the State Democratic Convention and helped nominate Madison S. Perry for governor. Perry won the governorship. Also in 1856, Bloxham married Mary C. Davis. He purchase a portion of land from his father for his and Mary’s own home and plantation. Their land adjoined the plantation of Catharine Murat (likely Bellevue Plantation) southwest of town. When the Civil War began, Bloxham enlisted as a private in the First Regiment Florida Infantry. He did not take the field of battle though. He was discharged due to a chronic issue with his lungs. Since he did not march off to war, Bloxham took a seat in the Florida Legislature as a representative from Leon County. He was elected unopposed for the vacancy. Bloxham played an important part in the Legislature during his time. He gave up his seat, though, in early 1862 when he joined the Trapier Guards of the Florida Infantry and was elected captain. His time in service was cut short a little over a year later when he left after the death of his father in March 1863. He declined to return to politics even after having been offered the chance to become a candidate. Bloxham returned to the Confederate Army in a noncombat role as a captain in the Quartermaster Corps. In February 1864, he was assigned to the Fifth Battalion of the Florida Fifth Cavalry based in Madison, FL. He only served for about six months due to problematic political issues. His appointment had not been confirmed by the Senate so he had to return to civilian life. By the time Bloxham left the Confederate Army, he had acquired additional lands near Tallahassee through purchase and inheritance. The value of his lands was quite significant at the time. In the aftermath of the Civil War, Bloxham attempted to reconcile himself to an economy without slave labor. He was one of the first farmers in Leon County to suggest moving away from a cotton-based farming system to other crops and livestock. By the end of the 1870s, Bloxham no longer planted cotton, but instead raised livestock. During this time, Bloxham returned to politics running for Lieutenant Governor in 1870. At first, he appeared to have won the election. The Republican Party challenged the returns from several majority Democrat districts as irregular and had the majority of the votes tossed out giving the Republican, Samuel Day, the victory. Bloxham launched a legal challenge that lasted until mid-1872. Eventually, Bloxham was declared the victor by the Florida Supreme Court. At that time, however, Bloxham’s term was effectively over and he did not conduct any of the duties necessary except preside over a few meetings of the State Senate. In 1880, Bloxham was nominated to run for governor by the Democratic Party of Florida and won. His first order of business was to deal with the one million dollars in debt the state had when he took office. Bloxham was able to work out a deal to sell Philadelphia business man, Hamilton Disston, four million acres of land in the Everglades for one million dollars to clear the debt. This transaction paved the way for some of the first major development in Florida. Bloxham was not nominated for a second term due to controversies and criticisms surrounding the deal with Disston and the upcoming Constitutional Convention for Florida. Bloxham was out of public service for only a little while. He was appointed United States Surveyor General of Florida in 1885 and served in that capacity until 1889. In May 1890, he was appointed to the vacant State Comptroller position and won statewide election to the position later that year. Bloxham received the Democratic nomination for governor again in 1896 and won a second term twelve years after his first term ended. Though he was considered to be a conservative, the policies of his second term proved to be much more progressive. He re-established the State Railroad Commission, attempted to eliminate or restrict monopolies, initiated new statewide fire regulations, and women first served as public notaries. William Bloxham continued to reside in Tallahassee after his political career ended. He died on March 15, 1911.

Bloxham Street is named for William D. Bloxham, plantation manager, Civil War infantry commander, and two-term Governor of Florida.  He was only the second governor of the state to be a native of Florida.  He also served in the Florida House of Representatives early in the Civil War years before leaving for military duty.  As governor, he oversaw the sale of four million acres of land encompassing much of the northern part of the Everglades in an effort to alleviate state debt.

Bloxham Street

James E. Broome moved to Tallahassee from South Carolina in 1837. Unless like most men moving to Florida at the time, Broome did not buy land and begin planting cotton. Instead, he set up shop as a merchant opening James E. Broome &amp; Company in a prominent business district known as Berry’s Row. He operated his business until 1841 when he left it behind to accept an appointment from Governor Richard K. Call as Probate Judge of Leon County. Broome served in this office until 1848.  In 1849, Broome purchased Whitehall Plantation which was situated on a hill overlooking Lake Jackson. By this time, Broome was well-known in Democratic Party politics and was being looked at as a possible candidate for governor in the next election to break the hold of the Whig Party. By purchasing Whitehall, Broome may have been making effort to strengthen his place among prominent Floridians. According to the 1850 tax rolls of Leon County, Broome owned 660 acres of land along with 31 slaves. Along with cotton, he planted corn and had livestock on this plantation. In 1852, Broome was elected as the third governor of Florida. He was known as a strong advocate for states-rights as well as an ardent supporter of secession. In an address to the State General Assembly in 1854, Broome declared the South was unmoved by federal intervention and regulation and the strength of the region was its stability. The speech emphasized his key issues which were preserving the traditions of the South and protecting Southern white male honor. Also during his term as governor, Broome vetoed more legislation passed by the assembly than his two previous predecessors. The assembly was controlled by the Whig Party at the time, so Broome found himself continually at odds with them over many issues. As governor, he raised money to improve the railroads in north Florida. He assisted in providing funding for the improved railroad between Tallahassee and St. Marks as well as construction of a railroad heading east that eased transportation woes for planters east of Tallahassee. After serving his term as governor, Broome returned to business and became a cotton factoring agent for New Orleans-based Nathaniel Hamlen. It was not uncommon for planters in a region to also act as agents for cotton firms in the larger exporting cities. Broome did not stay out of politics for long, though. He served in the Florida Senate from 1860-1864 during part of the Civil War years. After the war, Broome relocated to New York City. Sources are not entirely clear as to why he made this move. He lived there until he made a trip back to Florida to visit his son. Broome passed away November 23, 1883 in Deland, FL.

Broome Street is named for James E. Broome, the third governor of Florida.  He moved to Tallahassee from South Carolina and began his career as a businessman.  He later got involved in politics after being appointed Probate Judge of Leon County.  Broome became a planter and lived on his plantation called Whitehall while he served as governor.

Broome Street

Richard Keith Call was born in Virginia to a well-connected family. His uncle, another Richard Call, was a Revolutionary War hero and an uncle on his mother’s side, David Walker, was a U.S. Representative from Kentucky. Call eventually moved to Tennessee to begin his college education. Call left college in 1813 to join in military actions against the Creek Indians in what would become known as the Creek War or Red Stick War. He became a third lieutenant of a volunteer company and served under Andrew Jackson. During his time in service under Andrew Jackson, Call frequently visited Jackson’s home in Nashville called The Hermitage. Call may have even lived there for a time. Call’s relationship with Jackson was so close that Call married Mary Kirkland at The Hermitage in 1824. In 1825, Richard Call moved to Tallahassee after being appointed the receiver of the Federal Land Office as well as brigadier of the Florida militia. This was not Call’s first visit to the area considering his long service with Jackson, including during the First Seminole War in which Jackson and his army captured nearby Saint Marks from the Spanish. Another of Jackson’s confidantes, Robert Butler, joined Call in Tallahassee as the surveyor general. These men set themselves up to have the pick of the best lands in north Florida. Call purchased a large tract of land north of Tallahassee on Lake Jackson that became Orchard Pond Plantation. He also purchased land approximately one mile north of the capitol that later became the Grove. His position as receiver also led him to become a land speculator and to invest in many projects going on in the Florida Territory. With his position of prominence in Tallahassee secured, Call believed the election of his good friend, Andrew Jackson, to be President of the United States, would net him some type of political appointment. Call did not have to wait long for an appointment, yet it was probably not what he expected. Shortly after taking office, Jackson appointed Call as a special agent on a diplomatic mission to Cuba to retrieve archival papers pertaining to the Spanish occupation and governance of Florida. His mission was not successful, however Call now felt the aspirations of political office. He challenged the incumbant, Joseph White, for the Territorial delegate seat to the U.S. Congress. Call was defeated in the election and his political desires had to take a back seat to rising tensions with Native Americans. Pressed back into military service, Call led a small army of volunteers to rendezvous with another force of soldiers led by General Duncan Clinch and together they marched to confront Chief Osceola and a band of Seminole warriors on the Withlacoochee River. A battle raged for hours and Osceola eventually withdrew his men further south. Unfortunately, though, due to his inaction and lack of support for General Clinch, Call’s reputation as a military leader was tarnished and territorial newspapers lampooned him. Despite the loss of reputation as a military leader, Call remained close with President Andrew Jackson. In March 1836, Call received the appointment he had hoped for when Jackson named him Territorial Governor of Florida. He had scarcely gotten acclimated to the position before he began making plans to redeem himself as a military leader. However, Call’s second turn at engaging the Seminoles in hostilities was a failure. President Jackson denounced the failure bitterly and Call was quickly removed from command of the Territorial forces. He allowed his bitterness over the entire episode to fester and he soon found himself at odds with the new presidential administration of Martin Van Buren. After two years of back and forth criticisms with the administration, Van Buren finally demanded Call relinquish the governorship for three reasons: he was too involved in national politics, many citizens of the Territory had begun asking for his removal, and for Call’s poor performance in the course of the earlier war. Call’s reaction to this action seemingly finished him in politics in Florida as he turned from the Democratic Party and give his whole-hearted support to the Whig candidate, William Henry Harrison in the 1840 presidential election. Call’s support of Harrison was quickly rewarded. Within days of the inauguration, the new president re-appointed Richard Call to the Territorial Governorship of Florida. The people of Florida were not pleased, though, and especially not those Floridians closely aligned with the Democratic Party. Call also lost most of his support in Washington when President Harrison died barely a month into his presidency. Vice-president John Tyler became President and pursued a much more cooperative course of action with the Democrats.  This action and continuing troubles during his second term as governor all but doomed Call in Florida politics. After he left the Territorial Governorship in 1844, Florida became a state in 1845. Call ran for the first Governor of Florida on the Whig ticket but was defeated by William Moseley, a planter from Jefferson County. Call left politics for good after this defeat. Though Call sided with the Unionists in opposition to secession as the Civil War loomed near, he also stridently defended slavery and the holding of enslaved persons. In an 1860 letter to the editor of the Tallahassee Sentinel, Call clarified remarks he made regarding resisting Lincoln’s inauguration. Call stated that he did not advocate resistance as that would bring a Civil War, which he believed the South was unprepared for and that he longed for the preservation of the Union. Call also adamantly defended slavery and the rights of the slaveholder. He stated that Lincoln’s “Black Republican party” had perverted the Declaration of Independence by applying it “to the African race.” He criticized attempts to extend the rights of the Constitution to enslaved persons and disavowed the belief that the enslaved were born free under the principles of the Declaration Call states “Can anyone doubt this design in this perversion of the Declaration of Independence, which was intended by our fathers to apply only to the white man, to our own Anglo Saxon race?” Call went on to say he hoped to save the Union, however he was making preparations for war. Richard Call died in his home at the Grove September 14, 1862.

Call Street is named for Richard Keith Call, a former two term territorial governor of Florida and attorney in Tallahassee.  Call also owned two plantations in Leon County: The Grove and Orchard Pond.  He was one of the largest holders of enslaved persons in the county.  The 1860 Census records Call owning 121 men, women, and children.  

Call Street

James C. Bronaugh was a physician in the United State Army. (No records exist as to why there is a difference in spelling between the street name and Bronaugh’s actual name).  He and Andrew Jackson grew very close as they both rose through the ranks of the Army together in the Southern Military District, Jackson through command and Bronaugh through the medical service. Their friendship was one of mutual respect, confidence, and long-lasting. After Bronaugh served Jackson in the diplomatic mission to Pensacola (territorial capitol of West Florida), Jackson appointed him resident physician of the city. Later, Bronaugh would personally carry Jackson’s resignation as military governor to President James Monroe.  Once the full Territory of Florida was organized in early 1822, Bronaugh was appointed by President Monroe as a member of the Legislative Council. He was unanimously elected President of the Council. This position put Bronaugh in the lead for the delegate’s seat to Congress that the Territory gained. A decisive vote regarding suffrage for military men stationed in Florida put Bronaugh at odds with another council member with designs on the delegate’s seat, future Territorial Governor Richard Keith Call. Bronaugh favored broad manhood suffrage to include military men in the territory. Call favored a more restrictive manhood suffrage. In the summer of 1822, the Council was forced to move its meetings out of Pensacola due to the arrival of Yellow Fever. The controversy over suffrage and the burgeoning division between fellow Jackson friends, Bronaugh and Call, ended rather abruptly with the epidemic. The rivalry that seemingly developed between Bronaugh and Call was put to a final end when Bronaugh contracted Yellow Fever and died in September 1822. Bronaugh was a slave owner and accounts report his slaves were sent to his mother after his death. Two years later, as part of his plan for Tallahassee, Territorial Governor Willam DuVal proposed the naming of a street to honor the former doctor.

Bronough Street is named for James C. Bronaugh, the personal physician and close confidante of Andrew Jackson.  Bronaugh, along with another Jackson appointee, served as liaisons between Jackson and Governor Jose Callava of Spanish West Florida to facilitate the transfer of territory and property from Spain to the United States.  President James Monroe had appointed Jackson as military Governor of West Florida to oversee governmental functions until the territory was formed.

Bronough Street

Theodore W. Brevard was a judge and lawyer from North Carolina. No records exist demonstrating the exact reason Brevard relocated to Florida, however it apparently was not to become a planter. If Brevard did own land to produce crops, he was not a significant producer of cotton. He is not listed on the 1850 Leon County Tax Rolls reflecting planters that produced fifty or more bales that year. Though he is not known to have owned a plantation or large farm, he still owned slaves. He is listed in the 1860 U.S. Census Slave Schedule as having owned 34 slaves. He served as State Comptroller of Florida from 1853 – 1861. During his time as Comptroller, Brevard County was named in his honor. Brevard’s son, Theodore, Jr. served in the Confederate army joining as a First Lieutenant and finishing the war as a Brigadier General. He may be most identified with being captured, along with his unit, just prior to the end of the war by a Union cavalry unit led by General George Custer. Just prior to the start of the Civil War, Theodore Jr. married Mary Call, daughter of Richard Keith Call. He and Mary were parents to Caroline Mays Brevard, an author and history educator at Florida State College for Women in Tallahassee.

Brevard Street is named for Theodore (also seen as Theodorus) Washington Brevard.  He was a native of North Carolina and moved to Tallahassee in 1847.  He served as State Comptroller from 1853 – 1861.  His son was Theodore Washington Brevard, Jr. who served as a military officer in the Confederate army.

Brevard Street

David B. Macomb was born in Detroit when it was still part of British territory. Much is not known of his younger years other than both his father and mother died when he was fairly young. Prior to moving to Tallahassee, he had lived for a time in Ohio where he met and married Mary Tiffin Worthington, daughter of United States Senator, and later Governor, Thomas Worthington. About 1825, Macomb left for Florida most likely due to mounting debts and bad business dealings in Ohio.  Upon arriving in Tallahassee, Macomb invested five hundred acres adjacent to the Southwood Plantation owned by George Taliafero Ward. He named his plantation Ben Venue on Loch Acray, which an apparent reference to Sir Walter Scott’s Lady of the Lake. Macomb was reportedly inspired by the landscape. Initially, Macomb was not a direct slaveholder. Instead, he hired slaves from other slaveholders. In 1830, though, he had become a direct slaveholder. According to the 1830 Census, in addition to Macomb, his wife, and five children, his household included two unidentified whites, fifteen slaves, and one free Black. During the late 1820s and early 1830s, Macomb involved himself in a number of money making schemes. He held postal route contracts for mail service, he practiced law, served as a county judge, and was appointed Justice of the Peace for a time. In a more exciting moment for Macomb, he engaged in a duel with Prince Achille Murat over an insult Murat hurled at him for a toast to Henry Clay. The two met several days after the insult. When they fired at one another, Macomb’s shot severed part of the little finger from Murat’s right hand. Murat then took aim and fired at Macomb only grazing him. Though Macomb escaped serious injury in this duel, troubles did catch up with him later. By 1835, some of the financial issues Macomb experienced years earlier in Ohio plagued him once again. He also had mounting unpaid promissory notes from his business dealings in Florida. Much of his property was seized by a United States Marshal on a court order. To escape his financial troubles, Macomb chose to move to Texas and leave his family behind until he could move them out. He joined the staff of Colonel Stephen F. Austin as Texas forces first began to engage the Mexican Army for independence. Later in 1835, he was commissioned as an artillery officer as a regular in the Texas Army. In the fall of 1836, Macomb was able to return to Florida to move his family out to Texas. During the trip, his wife developed a swift acting form of Tuberculosis, referred to as galloping consumption. She died in October 1836 in Lynchburg, TX not far from Houston. Four months later, likely in a fit of depression over the loss of his wife, David B. Macomb committed suicide.

Macomb Street is named for David B. Macomb.  He was involved in many types of careers such as plantation owner, merchant, militia commander, county judge, and land speculator.  His lived in Tallahassee only a short time, but left a lasting legacy behind.  Macomb even dueled with Prince Achille Murat over an insult Murat had hurled at him.

Macomb Street

Turbot Betton arrived with family, including his father, in 1825 from Maryland. In 1826, he opened up a small general store with his father, Joseph Betton. Over the next 20 years, Turbot Betton became the most important retailer for the city and for surrounding plantations.  The Bettons owned at least three general stores by the end of the 1820s. Betton purchased 1200 acres from the Marquis de Lafayette, or his representative, and took possession of the land that lies roughly between present day Thomasville Road and Centerville Road and north from Seventh Avenue up to Potts Road encompassing Betton Hills as well as Betton Woods, Noble Drive, and Goose Pond on September 20, 1827. He built his home in the area near what is today the intersection of East Seventh Avenue and Lee Avenue. He became one of the more successful planters in the region holding as many as fifty-five enslaved persons according to the Leon County Tax Rolls of 1850. Betton’s status within Tallahassee grew along with his wealth. In 1832, he helped found the Central Bank of Florida and was also elected to the city council in 1835.  Turbot Betton later became an investor and director for the first railroad in Tallahassee that ran down to the port at Saint Marks. At first the railroad attempted to use experimental steam engines but the cutting-edge technology kept exploding. Consequently, they reverted to using enslaved men to drive mule-cars loaded wit cotton, dry goods, and sometimes passengers.  Eyewitness accounts questioned the safety and construction of the railroad, however it operated from 1837 until the Pensacola and Georgia Railroad purchased the company in 1855. Betton was also one of the founders of St. John’s Episcopal Church and was a founding member and officer of the Florida Institute of Agricultural Antiquities and Science. Turbott Betton passed away in 1863. His property ended up with members of the Winthrop family and Guy Winthrop eventually consolidated the family holdings and started to develop the property in 1936. Over the course of the next almost thirty years, Winthrop developed the land and sold the lots creating the Betton Hills neighborhood.

Betton Hills is named for Turbot Betton (alternatively spelled Turbett), a Tallahassee plantation owner and merchant.  In 1826, he opened a general store with his father, Joseph Betton, and together they ran a thriving business for the next twenty years.  In 1827, he purchased 1200 acres near present day Thomasville, Road and Centerville Road for his plantation. 

Betton Hills Neighborhood

John Branch established Live Oak Plantation upon his arrival in Tallahassee in the 1830s. Prior to his arrival from North Carolina, he had a lengthy career in politics serving as Governor of North Carolina, United States Senator, United States Secretary of the Navy under Andrew Jackson, and even a Representative in the United States House. Branch was seemingly out of politics when he moved to Tallahassee. He likely moved to the area following his daughter Martha, the wife of Dr. Edward Bradford. President John Tyler appointed Branch as the sixth and final Territorial Governor of Florida to assist in the transition into statehood. Branch maintained his residence at Live Oak during his time as Territorial Governor and invited the public out to the plantation for a celebration of Florida’s formal entry into the Union in March 1845. A banner proclaiming “State of Florida” is said to have humg over the entrance to the property. In the 1850s, Branch purchased a portion of George Whitfield’s plantation which was to the south of Live Oak. He named this property Waverly Plantation. Prior to leaving Tallahassee to return to North Carolina, John Branch owned over two thousand acres of land and held over one hundred slaves. He became one of the most prolific cotton planters in the region. When he Branch left Tallahassee in the 1850s after the death of his wife, he maintained ownership over Live Oak and Waverly leaving them in the care of an agent to operate them on his behalf. In the Leon County Tax Book for 1860, his property is listed under “Agent John Branch” and as owning over 1,500 acres of land and holding 68 slaves. Branch passed away in Enfield, NC in early January 1863 and was buried there.

Live Oak Plantation Road is named for Live Oak Plantation which was owned by John Branch, the final Territorial Governor of Florida before statehood.  His daughter, Martha, married Dr. Edward Bradford, another prominent plantation owner and citizen in Tallahassee.  He returned to North Carolina in the early 1850s where he lived until he passed away in 1863.

Live Oak Plantation Road

Dr. Edward Bradford moved to the Tallahassee area from North Carolina in 1832 as did so many of second and third generation planters from the mid-Atlantic states. The fertile soils of the newer territories of the United States offered the prospect of better crops and a fortune to be made. He was followed not long after by his three brothers. All the brothers established plantations in north central Leon County. Dr. Bradford was the most successful of them eventually establishing both Pine Hill Plantation and later Horseshoe Plantation. His brothers established Water Oak Plantation, Walnut Hill Plantation, and Edgewood Plantation. Dr. Bradford received his medical training from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, PA. His family was allegedly descended from Bradfords that sailed to North America on the Mayflower. His wife, Martha Branch Bradford, was the daughter of Governor John Branch of North Carolina. His background, wealth, and efficiency skills helped him become one of the wealthiest residents in Leon County. He was involved in more than being a physician and a planter. Bradford owned over one hundred slaves on his plantations. He operated a brickyard, grist mill, sawmill, and kept a staff of professionals to run his businesses. The staff included an engineer, middle managers to operate the production, and an accountant to keep track of everything. His plantations were run by many skilled slaves including a Blacksmith, coopers, craftsmen, and foremen to oversee the field work and housework. Many of the bookkeeping records and receipts of Dr. Bradford’s plantations survived and are housed in a collection at Florida State University. These records show his many dealings with New York mercantile traders selling cotton in the market to be transported via rail to the north or via ship out of Saint Marks, FL. Bradford was a well-connected and prominent member of Tallahassee society. He conducted business with all the known names of the time. His daughter, Susan, went on to marry into another major Tallahassee family when she married Nicholas Ware Eppes, son of Francis W. Eppes and great-grandson of former President of the United States Thomas Jefferson. He was also a signatory to the Southern Rights Association on secession from the Union for the protection of Southern interests and the vindication of Southern rights. Bradford passed away in 1871 was buried in the family cemetery on the land that was Pine Hill Plantation.

The unincorporated community of Bradfordville in northern Leon County, along with Bradfordville Road in the same vicinity, are named for Dr. Edward Bradford, a physician from North Carolina who moved to Tallahassee in the early 1830s.  Dr. Bradford, along with several of his brothers, who also moved not long after, established multiple cotton plantations in this part of the county.  Dr. Bradford was the most successful of the brothers and established two plantations near Lake Iamonia, Pine Hill and Horseshoe.

Bradfordville Community

The Chaires brothers arrived in Tallahassee not too long after it was founded. Benjamin was mostly a planter, however he involved himself in other business dealings. He helped establish a bank in Tallahassee and joined other prominent, wealthy Tallahassee men in establishing a railroad. At one time, he also served as a Justice of the Peace. Above all, though, Benjamin was considered the wealthiest of the early planters in the region. Slaves built a large, three-story home called Verdura on nine thousand acres east of Tallahassee for Chaires. The home was destroyed by fire in 1885, however five columns of the home are still standing today. Green Hill Chaires settled near Lake Lafayette east of Tallahassee. Native Americans attacked his property in 1838 burning his home to the ground. His wife and child died in the fire. He chose not to rebuild in the same location. Instead, Green H. Chaires moved further east and built a new plantation called Evergreen Hills. Chaires also sat on the board of Central Bank, which his brother Benjamin had been a part of founding. Benjamin sat as president of the bank. Benjamin passed away in 1838 leaving his wealth and property to his wife. Thomas Peter, owner of Woodlawn Plantation, passed away in 1842. According to 1850 tax rolls, the Chaires family, including heirs, owned close to 12,000 acres of land and held almost 400 slaves. Green Hill passed away in 1860.

George Taliafero Ward arrived in Tallahassee in 1825 with his family. That same year he went to work in the Land Office where his father worked with Richard Keith Call. As a young man, Ward rose to prominence in Tallahassee. He served on the Florida Territorial Council in 1837-1838 and was elected as a convention delegate to the Florida constitution convention held in St. Joseph in 1838. He was also one of the first officers of Union Bank in Tallahassee when it was founded. Ward continued to dabble in politics when he later ran for governor in 1852 as a Whig losing to Democrat William Moseley. All of this, of course, was in addition to his primary role of planter in Leon County. Ward inherited Southwood from his father and in 1844 increased his lands when he married Sarah Jane Chaires, widow of Benjamin Chaires, part of the wealthy Chaires family in Leon County. A large part of the land she inherited from the death of Benjamin was incorporated into Ward’s land to make Southwood even larger. Between Southwood and the other two plantations Ward possessed, he owned at least 160 slaves, produced a 500-plus bale cotton crop, and a 7,500 bushel corn crop by 1859. Politics and planting were not the only things George Ward participated in around Tallahassee. He also took part in a duel with local militia leader Augustus Alston. Ward blamed Alton for the death of his brother, William Ward, during a battle with Native Americans. Alston had apparently given an order that resulted in William’s death. Allegedly, Ward confronted Alston by slapping him in the face with a riding crop and Alton made the challenge into a duel. They met at an area often used for duels in Leon County, likely near Lake Lafayette. Alston fired first hitting Ward in the leg and wounding him seriously. Alston advance firing again hitting Ward in the arm. This left Alston out of ammunition, giving Ward an open kill shot. However, Ward then managed to miss.. Ward allegedly wanted to continue the duel with other weapons, but he passed out from his injuries before further action could occur. As the Civil War drew close, George Ward served as a delegate to the Secession Convention in Montgomery, AL. Ward would later go on to command the Second Florida Infantry Regiment of the Confederate Army. During the Battle of Williamsburg, Colonel Ward took his regiment on a countercharge against advancing Union troops in order to recover a retreat by units commanded by General Joseph Johnston. During the charge, Ward was shot, apparently through the heart according to one witness, and fell dead on May 5, 1862. Soldiers of his command later retrieved his body and buried him in Williamsburg, VA.

The Southwood Community is named for the Southwood Plantation that occupied the same area prior to the Civil War.  Southwood was owned by George T. Ward, a planter that moved to Tallahassee with his family as a young man.  He also owned Waverly Plantation and Clifford Place Plantation in Leon County

Tallahassee’s Landscape: The Embedded Antebellum Nature of the City

Chaires Community

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources