Field Trip #4 Historical Tallahassee

For my field trip of an urban cultural history trip I did a walk through (and drive around) of downtown Tallahassee, Fl.  Tallahassee is the capitol of the State of Florida and was named for the "old fields" that it once encompassed, earned the title early in the 16th century from the Apalachee Indians who inhabited the area.

The City of Tallahassee was established in 1825, following a decision by the legislature to locate the capitol of the new Florida Territory midway between the population centers of St. Augustine and Pensacola.

 

A capitol building was constructed in 1826 but never completely finished. It was torn down in 1839 for the construction of the present structure, which was completed in 1845, just prior to Florida’s entry into the Union as the 27th state.  Currently the "old capitol" building is undergoing more construction as well. 




The new capitol building stands 
directly behind the old building and somewhat towers over it.

I didn't take this picture, but this is a good view of the new capitol with the old capitol behind it.  The two buildings to the right and left are the House and the Senate.










The new capitol building.

The Knott House was built in 1843, and was first occupied by attorney Thomas Hagner and his wife Catherine Gamble. The house served as temporary Union Headquarters in 1865, where Brigadier General Edward McCook announced the Emancipation Proclamation.

  Physician Dr. George Betton made the location his home and office in the 1880s. Betton assisted in the early medical training of his carriage driver, William Gunn, who became Florida's first African American physician.

  In the early 20th century, three Florida Supreme Court judges lived in the house, acquired by William and Luella Knott in 1928.

  A back view of the Knott House and the museum entrance.

Also historic to Tallahassee, Fl  is Florida State University (GO NOLES!!!).  The Florida State University, one of the largest and oldest of the 11 institutions of higher learning in the State University System of Florida, had its beginning as early as 1823 when the Territorial Legislature began to plan a higher education system.  

 This is a statue of Francis Wayles Eppes, the grandson of President Thomas Jefferson and founder of Florida State University. 

 In a 1905 the University of Florida in Gainesville was established and designated a men's school and the Florida State College became a women's school called the Florida Female College. The male student body moved from Tallahassee to Gainesville, taking with it the fraternity system and the College football team, which had been state champions in 1902, 1903, and 1905.

 On May 15, 1947, the Governor signed an act of the Legislature returning Florida State College for Women to coeducational status and naming it The Florida State University. The student body, numbering 4,056, chose a new alma mater and selected the Seminole as their mascot.

The first football game was played in 1905 was and three years later Campbell Stadium was built.  Here is Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida. 

 This is a historical home from Tallahassee, Fl that has been relocated to a museum for preservation and visitation purposes.  Bellevue is the former home of Princess Catherine Murat, the great-grandniece of George Washington. 

 100 years after Princess Murat's death, the Murat House Association preserved the house by moving it to the museum. 

 This was a display to show how they would transport water to and from the house and kitchen.  The buckets were filled with a gel-solid form (VERY heavy).  The weight here is what children were expected to carry. 

 Cotton! Both children and adults picked the cotton and growing and processing it took all year long.  Average adults could pick up to 200 lbs of cotton per day!!

 A detached kitchen removed the heat of the cooking from the parlor and sleeping areas in the house.  

  The cook would also customarily sleep in the kitchen house as well.

 This is not the actual kitchen from Bellevue as it was burned or removed prior to its restoration at the museum. 

This house was donated to the museum by the Langston Family.   I am related to the original owners of this house!! They are my grandmother's grandparents!  I can recall visiting this museum when I was younger with my grandmother and her telling me the stories about this house :)  **Note the cook stove behind me- very similar to the one from A Land Remembered!**

 The kitchen seen here was built in Wakulla County by James Langston during the late 1880's.  Meals were prepared here for a family of 10!!










 This chimney was absolutely amazing to me, it was made from wood and a thick paste mixture very similar to concrete.

 This is the Concord School House.  It served the education needs of a black community in Leon County for over 60 years. 

 Located in the center of the room was a wood burning stove. 

 This is the Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church.  The founder of this church is traced back to a slave Preacher Reverend James Page. 

Through the help of Florida A&M University, the church relocated from BelAir in Leon County to the museum for restoration.