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Civil War & Emancipation of Slavery

By the time of the Civil War, the Seminole and Creek Indians were largely gone, and planters from Virginia to Georgia bought huge tracts of land creating a plantation belt extending across five counties, an area the Native Americans called “the red hills”, from Jackson (Marianna, FL area) to Madison. The Tallahassee “red hills” region was a land of rich agriculture value and consequently many large plantations were built with crops primary of cotton, corn and tobacco. In fact, America’s largest concentration of original plantations - 71 plantations, 300,000 acres – exists between Tallahassee and Thomasville, Georgia, located just 28 miles north of town, and several are open to the public.

Florida contributed 15,000 soldiers to the Confederacy and St. Marks served as a haven for sailing ships attempting to run the Union’s coastal blockades. During the Civil War a small battle was waged at Natural Bridge, south of Tallahassee, where a makeshift army of locals fought off an attack by Union troops. Tallahassee was the only Confederate city east of the Mississippi that did not fall to Union troops. Put on your walking shoes to explore three historic districts, Downtown, the Park Avenue National Register Historic District, and the Calhoun Street National Register Historic District and stroll back in time to catch a glimpse of Territorial life, antebellum homes, picturesque churches, the emancipation of slaves, and influential Florida governors.