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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
This Tour is a Virtual Museum or Site Tour.
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This virtual tour demonstrates the embedded nature of Antebellum and Confederate heritage throughout Tallahassee in the street and neighborhood names.
