Tallahassee History | Tallahassee Museums

History - Historic Florida Consulting and Tours

The John Gilmore Riley House, a popular and sought-after Tallahassee museum

Family Fun at the Museum of Florida History

Historic Florida Consulting and Tours - Find out more

Tallahassee History & Heritage

Tallahassee history weaves a fascinating tapestry of politics and cultures, agriculture and innovation, higher education and religion, and liberty and justice, with southern charm, and international flavors. You don’t have to be a history buff to experience and appreciate the depth and diversity of Tallahassee’s history and heritage. Florida’s capital city plays a big role in the stories of Florida’s and American histories.

Today Tallahassee boasts diverse cultural heritage and is flourishing with many rhythms and flavors. Museums, festivals, cuisine, arts and crafts, and year-round events honor and celebrate Asian, Greek, Hispanic, and Celtic heritage in the Tallahassee area.

For a complete listing of Tallahassee history and heritage events, visit our online Events Calendar and check out our list of featured historical attractions below.

Featured Listings:

Frenchtown

612 W Brevard St
Tallahassee, FL 32303

Phone: (850) 513-9981
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Bounded approximately by Tennessee Street, Alabama Street, Woodward Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Frenchtown is perhaps Tallahassee’s best-known black neighborhood. In 1831, historic plantations, churches, homesteads, educational institutions, businesses and residences filled this area. Following the Civil War many freed slaves migrated to the area and it developed into a thriving middle-class African American community. Only a few original structures remain with preservation efforts underway and the area continues to revitalize its homes and businesses.

Goodwood Museum & Gardens

1600 Miccosukee Rd.
Tallahassee, FL 32308

Phone: (850) 877-4202
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One of the finest antebellum plantation houses ever built in the region, situated on sixteen acres of sprawling lawns, gardens and centuries old oaks. Call for information on tours of the main house.

Governor's Mansion

700 N. Adams
Tallahassee, FL 32301

Phone: (850) 717-9345
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This Southern mansion is patterned after Andrew Jackson’s home “The Hermitage” features antique furnishes and gifts from international dignitaries.

Greenwood Cemetery

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When a 1936 ordinance prevented the sale of burial plots to blacks in the Old City Cemetery, J.R.D. Laster, Tallahassee’s first black funeral director purchased 16 acres here and established Greenwood in 1937. The City of Tallahassee now owns this historic cemetery.

Guided Tours in Florida's Capital & the Forgotten Coast

Phone: (850) 212-2063
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Let our experienced guides introduce you to Florida’s capital and the Forgotten Coast. Private driving, walking, and motorcoach sightseeing tours, custom or preformed tours and itinerary planning services available. Specializing in historical, cultural and education tours.

John G. Riley Museum of African American History and Culture

419 E. Jefferson St.
Tallahassee, FL 32301

Phone: (850) 681-7881
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Built in 1890, the home of prominent Tallahasseean John G, Riley sits on the fringe of Smokey Hollow, once a working-class black neighborhood whose residents included the mother of jazz greats Nat and Cannonball Adderly, as well as Wallace Amos, creator of famous Amos cookies. John Gilmore Riley was the principal of Lincoln Academy, the first black high school in Leon County. Regional exhibits at the Museum feature regional artwork and photographs depicting life in Tallahassee and Florida from 1865 to 1968.

Knott House Museum

301 E. Park Ave.
Tallahassee, FL 32301

Phone: (850) 922-2459
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Enter this historic house and step back in time. Preserved in its 1928 decor, the uniquely furnished home is a portrait in time reflecting the lives of state official William Knott and his wife.

Lake Jackson Mounds State Archaeological Site

3600 Indian Mounds Rd.
Tallahassee, FL 32301

Phone: (850) 922-6007
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Dating to AD 1200-1500, Native Americans inhabited the area around Lake Jackson, just north of Tallahassee. The park site was part of what is now known as the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex. Today, it encompasses six earthen temple mounds and one possible burial mound. The largest mound is 278 feet by 312 feet at the base and approximately 36 feet in height. Artifacts of pre-Columbian societies have been found here including copper breastplates, necklaces, bracelets, anklets, and cloaks.

Letchworth-Love Mounds State Park

4500 Sunray Rd.
Tallahassee, FL 32309

Phone: (850) 922-6007
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Letchworth-Love Mounds Archaeological State Park is one of the state’s most significant Native American ceremonial sites, featuring Florida’s tallest Native American ceremonial mound - 46 feet tall. The people who built the mound are believed to have been members of the Weedon Island Culture, a group of Native Americans who lived in North Florida between 200 and 800 A.D.

Mission San Luis

2100 West Tennessee St.
Tallahassee, FL 32304

Phone: (850) 245-6406
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Mission San Luis de Apalache, also known as San Luis de Talimali, was the western anchor of the mission system stretching from the Apalachicola River to St. Augustine in the 1600s. On-going excavations have uncovered the Spanish fort, religious complex, council house and several homes. All of these structures, including the largest known Indian Council House in the Southeast, have been meticulously reconstructed. Mission San Luis includes a magnificent new Visitor Center.