CANOPY ROADS & COUNTRY LANES – The Canopy Road Automobile Tours

CANOPY ROADS & COUNTRY LANES – The Canopy Road Automobile Tours

Centuries ago, Native Americans traveled the hills of Leon County, creating a network of trails followed later by Spanish explorers and American settlers. Today you can travel these same historic routes. We invite you to venture along picturesque canopy roads where majestic live oak trees drip with Spanish moss, and embankments cut ten feet deep into the rich red clay of the earth.  Follow Leon County’s rural roads back into history. 

 In the 1830’s, a traveler noted that Tallahassee was a little town “built round a knoll and surrounded by dense hammocks through which diverged roads like the spokes of a wheel.” Trips to Tallahassee on these “spokes” were infrequent it could take hours by wagon along the rutted clay roads.

 But those trips were memorable past rural churches and country stores, through groves of live oak trees, by pristine lakes and ponds. Once out side the city limits of modern Tallahassee, you can enjoy many of the same sights still today.

 Canopy Roads have Gracious old live trees  that reach across the road, creating the effect of a canopy. Grey and ghostly Spanish moss (actually a botanical relative of the pineapple) drips from the trees, adding to the mystical effect. Small saplings and vines weave in and out of the live oaks, completing the enclosed canopy. In spring, enjoy the delicate dogwoods and heavenly scented purple wisteria that entwine in the oaks.

Red Hill Roads have traversed, these hills for centuries, eroding deep grooves into the hillsides. Geologically, this area is known as the Tallahassee Red Hills because of the iron laden clay in the soil. Journeying along the canopy roads, note the many rich red hues of the embankments. Open fields and scenic breathtaking vistas overlooking rural, undeveloped countryside are another striking feature of Leon County’s canopy roads.

Think how hot, humid and unpleasant it would be to make this trip in a mule drawn wagon in August. Some believe canopy roads were laid out through existing groves of live oak trees to provide shade from the hot Florida sun. Others say the live oaks were planted by slaves to provide shelter. Still others think the live oaks follow old fence lines, where birds perched and dropped acorns.

This document describes three automobile self guided driving tours. 

THE NATIVE TRAIL links the area’s richest archaeological sites where you can climb Indian ceremonial mounds. Explore native villages and Spanish mission sites. 

THE COTTON TRAIL follows Leon County’s most beautiful canopy roads to visit sites from the antebellum period when “Cotton was King,” from the creation of the cotton gin in 1824 through the Civil War. 

THE QUAIL TRAIL transports you to the early 1900s. Travel through pine forests to visit former hunting estates.

Each of these tours offers a snapshot of the past. Take a leisurely drive along one or all. Stop, enjoy a picnic, take pictures, or just relax. But please do not trespass on private property or remove any archaeological artifacts.  Maps of the tours may be found on-line. 

THE NATIVE TRAIL Canopy Road Automobile Tour

Tour length: 23 miles: Approximate time: 4 hours.

We are not the first to have lived here. For thousands of years, settlers have chosen Tallahassee’s dramatic hilltops and lake shores for their homes  and their capitals. Close to 12,000 years ago, bands of Native Americans roamed these hills.

Eventually they became more settled, making tools and pottery, and then domesticating plants. This cultural area, known as Apalachee Province, was closely linked to other Native American cultures throughout the interior Southeast. By 1,000 years ago, agriculture became the main source of food, and Native Americans lived in scattered villages made up of farmsteads.

Their way of life changed dramatically with the arrival of Europeans. Spaniards began exploring this area in the early 1500s, by 1633 establishing their first missions. Within a century, the mission system was destroyed by the British looking to acquire new territory. The remaining Apalachee left the area, later to be replaced by Seminoles or “runaways.” Within another half century most Seminoles were driven away by American soldiers and settlers, closing a significant period of history.

The land that we find so attractive today was equally desirable to the Native Americans and then pioneers settlers. THE NATIVE TRAIL provides only a taste, of Leon County’s early layers of history There is much that has been destroyed, and much more that remains to be discovered.

Start your tour at the Museum of Florida History.

Site #1  MUSEUM OF FLORIDA HISTORY

R.A. Gray Building

500 South Bronough Street

Open Mon-Fri 9 4:30; Sat 10 4:30; Sun Noon 4:30

Giant mastodon bones, arrowheads, exquisite native pottery, dugout canoes, and Spanish doubloons are some artifacts that help tell the story of the early settlers and explorers of Leon County. To better

understand what you are to see, on THE NATIVE TRAIL, spend time exploring the Museum of Florida History. Exhibits trace the history of Floridians and their natural environment from 12,000 years ago through the 20th century.

Head east from the Museum to Duval Street and turn left (north).

Go .2 miles and turn left at the traffic light at Tharpe Street.

 Go.8 miles and turn right on Old Bainbridge Road.

OLD BAINBRIDGE ROAD

Along this beautiful route, archaeologists have found remains of Native American villages and Spanish rancheros, reflecting the many who have traveled this road before. This scenic and historic Road is one of seven in Leon County designated as an official canopy road. The massive live oak trees are protected, and by law, new development within 100 feet of the road is monitored.

Crossing over the Interstate 10 overpass, to the left is the site of Escambe, a Spanish mission from the 1600s.

Go 3.4 miles on Old Bainbridge Road and turn right at Fred George Road, It becomes Crowder Road. At 1.4 miles turn right on Indian Mound Drive. Continue to Site #2

Site # 2 LAKE JACKSON MOUNDS STATE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE

1313 Crowder Road

Open Sunrise-Sunset

The Lake Jackson Mounds were a major ceremonial center for the Apalachee Indians of this region. These impressive earthen temple mounds reach skyward in testimony to the civilization once located in Apalachee Province. This was part of a vast southeastern Native American cultural complex known as “Mississippian.” As with other Mississippian chiefdoms, the Apalachee were agriculturalists. 

They built mounds to serve as ceremonial centers. The Indians living here shared similar spiritual belief systems with the Mississippian culture, and participated in an extensive trading network throughout the Southeast. At one time, the Lake Jackson complex consisted of six temple mounds and a large village with central plaza. Temples and houses of priests and rulers were located atop the mounds. Small, single family farms surrounded the village.

Scattered throughout Leon County were other temple mounds with villages and farms. The Apalachee left in the 1500’s for reasons still unknown, and resettled in other parts of the province.

Today’s Lake Jackson Archeological State Park encompasses three mounds and part of the village site. The site also has remains from a 19^th century cotton plantation.

Leaving the site, you may take a right turn at Crowder Road for a view of Lake Jackson.Lake Jackson is unique in that it has no surface streams flowing out of it.

Retrace your route via Crowder Road and Fred George Road out to Old Bainbridge Road.

Turn left onto Old Bainbridge Road.

 At 2.5 miles turn right on High Road and then right at .7 miles on Tharpe Street.

After .5 miles turn left on San Luis Road.

Go to the end of the San Luis road and turn left on Mission Road.

Parking for San Luis Archaeological and Historic Site is on your left.

Site #3 Mission San Luis de Apalachee

2020 Mission Road

Open Mon-Fri 9 4:30; Sat 10-4; Sun 12-4:30

From the time of the Lake Jackson Mounds, travel forward in time to Mission San Luis de Apalachee. Spaniards chose this dramatic hilltop for the capital of their mission system in Apalachee Province. After the Spaniards settled St. Augustine in 1565, they began establishing missions in the outlying areas. By the 1630’s they came to Apalachee to convert the natives to Christianity and take advantage of their agricultural potential and labor force.

 During this time, as many as 30,000 Apalachee lived in more than 40 towns scattered across the countryside. Agriculture was their way of life, and maize, beans and squash were their principal crops.

Both Spaniards and Apalachee lived at San Luis. 

The mission consisted of a European style church and friary, a round native council house with thatched roof which held 2,000 to 3,000 people, a plaza and separate Spanish and Apalachee villages. The Spanish homes were European style rectangular buildings divided into several rooms. The Apalachee, who spent more time outdoors, lived in round un-partitioned homes with thatched roofs supported by poles.

From 1656 to 1704, San Luis served as the capital of the Spanish mission system in Apalachee Province. In 1704 British raids struck a disastrous blow to the Spanish mission system. Those Apalachee not captured or killed fled the area, leaving it abandoned. Archaeologists continue to unearth exciting clues about life here in the 1600s. Today, you can explore the remains of Mission San Luis de Apalachee, which has been, designated a National Historic Landmark.

Turn left out of the parking lot.

At Ocala Road turn right, immediately getting into left lane.

Turn left on Tennessee Street.

Go 2.4 miles on Tennessee Street and turn right on Calhoun Street (one blockpast Monroe Street).

Continue on Calhoun Street7 miles and turn left on Bloxham Street. Cascades Park is on your right.

Site #4 CASCADES PARK

In prehistoric times, Native Americans lived here beside a dramatic cascade of falling water. Tallahassee’s first settlers camped here in 1824. Unfortunately, by the early 190Os railroad and industrial development so polluted the area that the cascade was blocked off.

To your left, behind the azalea bushes, is the Prime Meridian Marker, indicating the intersection of the guide meridian and base parallel from which all Florida land surveys are calculated.

Leaving Cascades Park, continue, on Bloxham Street and turn tight on Gaines Street.

Site #5 MYERS PARK

Among the hills of Myers Park may have been located part of the Native American Chiefdom called Anhaica.  After the time the Lake Jackson Mounds were occupied, and before the Europeans arrived, Anhaica was the “capital” village of Apalachee Province which had as many as 30,000 residents. Later, in the 1820’s, Territorial Governor William Du Val built his house here, where the tennis courts are now located.

Leaving Myers Park, turn right on Golf Terrace.

 Turn left on Magnolia Drive, and then left on Country Club Drive, encircling the golf course.

Site #6 COUNTRY CLUB ESTATES

The beautiful terrain and lush, vegetation reveal why this area has been a popular place to live for thousands of years. Spanish records refer to a “heathen village” inhabited by Yamases Indians in this area, and the Spanish missions La Purification de Tama and later Nuestra Senora de la Candelaria de la Tama were established in this vicinity, The neighborhood and golf  course you see today were established in the 1920’s.

At the stop sign, turn right on Santa Rosa Drive for a remnant of the Civil War

Site #7  OLD FORT PARK

The remains of earthworks from the Civil War are located here. Tallahasseans built these to protect the city from Union attack from the south. Never used in battle, the closest Union troops ever came to Tallahassee was Natural Bridge in southern Leon County

Go straight on Santa Rosa Drive, then right on Myers Park Drive.

Turn right on Lafayette Street and at .2 miles turn right on De Sato Park Drive

Site #8 DE SOTO STATE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE

Open Sunrise--Sunset

Driving up the hill today, no sign remains of what happened here more than four centuries ago. Contemporary office buildings and the 1920s home of Governor Martin are all that can be seen. But in the 1980s, archaeologists made a tremendous discovery on this hilltop. 

The olive jar fragments, coins, chain mail and other artifacts were not as originaly thought, from a Spanish Mission Site. They were from the 1539-40 winter encampment of Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto and his army of 600 soldiers. De Soto and his men explored the southeastern United States in search of riches. They chose this site because it was part of the Apalachee capital of  Anhaica.

Leaving the De Soto Site, turn right on Lafayette Street. It turns into Old St. Augustine Road.

Another officially designated canopy road, Old St. Augustine Road has a rich history. When Surveyor John Lee Williams explored this area in 1823 to select the site for Florida’s capital, he noted he had seen “abundant evidences of an ancient and dense population with great roads.”

This road dates back to at least the 1600's when it linked the Spanish missions of Leon County to St. Augustine, and was known as the Royal Road. This road later served as the foundation for Florida’s first American road, the Pensacola-St. Augustine Highway. Part of this road was constructed by slaves of Leon County planter John Bellamy in the 1820's. Prosperous cotton plantations soon lined Old St. Augustine Road. Today, enjoy the scenic vistas and gracious, old live oaks along this road.

Turn left on Williams Road, and left again on Apalachee Parkway to return downtown.

THE COTTON TRAIL Canopy Road Automobile Tour

Tour length: 50, miles Approximate time: 3.5 hours.

Leon County’s economy was based on agriculture, particularly cotton, from antebellum times through the early 20th century. There was a time when cotton was king in Leon County. As was true throughout the Deep South, it was a plantation economy based on the labor of slaves. Most residents worked the land, by 1860 making the county Florida’s leader in cotton, corn, sugar cane, sweet potatoes and other crops.

Planters and slaves hauled wagon loads of these goods, via winding red clay trails, to market in Tallahassee or to the Gulf of Mexico ports.

 THE COTTON TRAIL.

Start at the Brokaw-McDougall House.

Site #1. BROKAW MCDOUGALL HOUSE

 – BUILT 1856

 329 North Meridian Street

Open Mon Fri 8-5

The antebellum formal gardens with massive live oak trees were probably laid out at the time the Brokaw-McDougall House was constructed. With its formal gardens and elaborate cupola, this Italianate landmark was on the outskirts of Tallahassee when it was first constructed. 

It was built by Perez Brokaw, who operated a prosperous livery stable business in the city. The Brokaw-McDougall House stood witness to hundreds of wagons slowly hauling cotton along Miccosukee Road from the rural plantations to market. Venture up the creaking stairs to the cupola of this antebellum mansion and overlook the lush greenery that has become Tallahassee’s signature,

Leaving the Brokaw-Mcdoudall House, go right on Miccosukee Road. At .7 miles look to left.

Site #2  EAST HILL BAPTIST CHURCH - AVANT CHAPEL

BUILT in the 1840’S

912 Miccosukee Road

Please respect this Private Property

A distinctive wooden Greek Revival style town home makes up part of the church complex. Originally located downtown at the corner of College Avenue and Duval Street, the structure was described as “one of the handsomest in town with silver hinges and knobs on solid mahogany doors.”

Leaving the East Hill Baptist Church area, Go .6 miles and turn left on Medical Drive take immediate right onto to Goodwood Plantation.

Site #3 GOODWOOD PLANTATION

BUILT in the 1840’S

Grounds Open Tues-Sun 9-5

Driving up the gravel trail, experience the stow rise of the land and the lush vegetation. Early settlers chose hilltops for their homes to take advantage of cool breezes. 

Goodwood Plantation once encompassed 2,400 acres of land, raising cotton, corn and other staples of the era. Planter Bryan Croom built this elegant mansion in the 1840s, which was remodeled in the 1910’s. Throughout its long history Goodwood has been a show place and social center. A profusion of sweetly scented roses brings color to the historic gardens.

Leaving Goodwood Plantation, continue along Miccosukee Road.

At about 3.5 miles past Goodwood the beauty of this canopy road Is clearly evident. A ride along one of Leon County’s canopy roads is a photo opportunity and a memorable experience.

Turn left on Crump Road (which turns into Roberts Road)

 Continue 2.8 miles - look to your left.

Site #4 THEUSROBERTS FARM BUILT 1830’S

Please respect this Private Property

The antebellum home crowning the hill dates from around 1830, and was expanded to its present size in the 1860’s. This simple vernacular wood frame building was more typical of the Leon County planter’s home than was Goodwood Plantation. Over half the farms and plantations in Leon County during this period were between 100 and 500 acres. At the start of the Civil War, the farm encompassed 393 acres producing 72 bales of cotton and 3,000 bushels of corn. Descendants of the original owners still live here and farm the land.

Continue 1.3 miles then turn right on Centerville Road

 Another designated canopy road, Centerville Road was named after the now vanished antebellum community of Centerville.

-immediately on your left is St. Phillip A.M.E Church.

Site #5 ST. PHILLIP A.M.E. CHURCH

In antebellum times, African American slaves attended the church of their master, or were not allowed to attend at all. After emancipation, new African American denominations were established, including the African Methodist Episcopal (or A.M.E.) Church. In 1875 the Roberts family transferred five acres of land for the establishment of an A.M.E. church on this site. The congregation of St. Phillip A.M.E dates its founding to 1891.

Continue 1.4 miles on Centerville Road, then turn right on Old Pisgah Church Road.

Site #6 OLD PISGAH UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

BUILT 1858

Grounds Open Sunrise until Sunset

Old Pisgah Church still fills with worshipers every Sunday. 

Untouched by time, this elegantly simple Greek Revival church is the oldest remaining Methodist church building in Leon County. White women sat on one side of the church, and men on the other. The galleries provided seating for slaves. Stroll through the cemetery where victims of a devastating 1841 yellow fever epidemic were interred in unmarked graves. Some estimate that one tenth of Leon County’s population died during that Two month epidemic.

Continue north on Centerville Road

Go 4.3 miles. The Country Store is on your right.

Site #8  BRADLEY’S COUNTRY STORE BUILT 1927

Moccasin Gap Road

Open Mon-Fri 86-; Sat 8-5; Closed Sun.

Stop by and step back in time. Buy a Moon Pie and cola at Bradley’s Country Store, and take some of their world famous homemade sausage home for dinner. Talk with the Bradley’s, who have run the family store since it was established in 1927.

Continue 4.8 miles to intersection of Moccasin Gap Road and SR 59.

 You may want to park and stroll around the little town of Miccosukee.

Site #9 MICCOSUKEE

Intersection of Moccasin Gap Road and SR 59

Miccosukee is a small community with a fascinating history Originally a Native American village, in 1778 it consisted of “sixty houses, a town square, [and] twenty eight families.”

After decades of battles between the native americans and white settlers, Andrew Jackson led an army of 3,000 through the area. In 1818, he burned the native village of “Mikasuki” and earned the name “Sharp Knife” from the natives. Over the, next two decades surviving Miccosukee Indians abandoned the area, some moving to central and then south Florida.

 White settlers soon established their own village at Miccosukee. A post office opened in May 1823. Methodist and Baptist churches and a private school were established in the area. No antebellum, buildings stand in today’s village of Miccosukee, but some from early this century remain.

Dr. Strickland built his home herein 1906. It was later acquired by the Herold family, whose descendants still live there. Prosperous Leon County merchant Richard A. Van Brunt operated a country store in Miccosukee and constructed his home here in 1911.

Walk south on SR 59 to see the Averitt-Winchester House and the Miccosukee United Methodist Church.

With its dominant steeple and austere style, the Miccosukee United Methodist Church remains an important landmark in the community. The earliest Methodist church serving the area was established in 1828. The present building dates from about 1876 and remains virtually unaltered.

W.H. Averitt served as Miccosukee’s postmaster in the early 1900s, and lived in the house across the road from the church.

DETOUR- Most of old Magnolia Road remains unpaved, and but it provides a journey back in time and several photo opportunities. The adventuresome should take this 12.5-mile detour to an antebellum church and to old Magnolia Road, one of our most scenic dirt roads. Because of slow driving

along Magnolia Road this detour will add about 40 minutes. Magnolia Road can be dusty in dry weather and can be slick in rainy weather.

Go 3.5 miles south on SR 59 – look left.

Site #10 Indian Springs Baptist Church – Built 1854

Grounds Open Sunrise – Sunset

Built to serve planters and slaves in the Miccosukee area, Indian Springs is the oldest Baptist church building in Leon County. This simple and unusual wooden vernacular building with pyramidal roof has a classical Revival influence. Once called Newport road, SR 59 led to the port called Newport on the St. Marks River.

Turn left on SR 90 (Mahan Drive)

Turn left again on County Road 142 (Magnolia Road)

– both are well marked.

Historic (old) Magnolia Road is one of the  most Picturesque in Leon County. In antebellum days, this road traversed Blakely, the tenth largest cotton-producing plantation in the county. Today you travel

through two hunting plantations – Ring Oak and Loveridge. Ring Oak derives its name from the majestic live oak in the middle of the road. Remember to wave at anyone you pass – it’s southern tradition on

dirt roads.

IF YOU HAVE TAKEN THE DETOUR- Continue north on Magnolia Road and turn right on Reeves Landing Road.

IF YOU HAVE NOT TAKEN THE DETOUR-

Continue on Cromartie Road turn left on Magnolia Road, and then right on Reeves Landing Road.

Site #11. REEVES LANDING

Ring neck duck feed on the lake, and bass and bream abound. Cool breezes blow, even on the, hottest summer days. Peace and solitude can be found on expansive Lake Miccosukee. The fish camps were established in the 1930s and ’40s. Note the old board and batten hunting lodge. Picnic here, relax and listen to the sounds of the birds, or rent a boat and go fishing.

Return to Magnolia Road then turn right.

The faint of heart, or those with new cars, might want to avoid this unpaved stretch! If you journey anyway, enjoy the steep embankments interspersed with panoramic views of open pasture land near the north shore of Lake Miccosukee

MAGNOLIA ROAD

One of the oldest in, Leon County, Magnolia Road led to the antebellum port of Magnolia on, the St. Marks River. Planters hauled their cotton to the port to be shipped to New Orleans and New York. When the St. Marks Railroad linked Tallahassee to St. Marks in the 1830s, Magnolia swiftly fell into decline and vanished.

Turn left on T.S. Green Road

Turn left on SR 59.

Turn right, on Moccasin Gap Road

At .2 miles turn left on Miccosukee Road.

Drive slowly and enjoy the majesty of this beautiful road with its lush vegetation. This first portion of Miccosukee Road was paved in the 1980s, Care was taken to preserve the rural character of the road it is narrow and weaves to protect the canopy On the way back to town, you will pass through the land of many antebellum plantations with exotic names such as Chemonie, Cotton, Land, Oakland, and LaGrange.

We- hope you have enjoyed THE COTTON TRAIL.

THE QUAIL TRAIL Canopy Road Automobile Tour

Tour length: 50 miles; Approximate time: 3 hours.

The abundance of bobwhite quail made this area a popular winter hunting retreat, for wealthy Northerners.

As throughout the South, the economy of Leon County was devastated after the Civil War. While the system of slavery ended, many planters retained their land, Both freedmen and, poor, whites became tenant farmers or sharecroppers on the land. Small patch farms replaced large plantations, and much of the land of Leon County began growing broomsedge and second growth timber excellent habitat for quail. With depressed agricultural prices, large land holdings could be purchased cheaply.

Wealthy Northerners began coming to the winter resort of Thomasville, Georgia in the 1880s. Soon, they began purchasing plantations in South Georgia and then North Florida. They built hunting lodges, horse stables, dog kennels and other facilities related to hunting. They also had tenant complexes where tenant farmers continued to work patches of land. For the most part, the hunting estates are self-contained with little evidence of their existence visible from the road. Today, thousands of acres of Leon County land remain in these estates.

Start at the New Capitol

 Go .9 miles north on Monroe Street and take the right fork at Thomasville Road.

Continue .6 miles and take the left fork onto Meridian Road.

MERIDIAN ROAD

Another designated canopy road, Meridian Road’s history began in 1824 when Federal Surveyor Benjamin Clements laid lengths of chain through the Tallahassee woods to establish the Prime Meridian as the point of beginning for all land surveys in the State of Florida. The straight line northward later became Meridian Line Road. The Prime Meridian Marker for the State of Florida is still located downtown by Cascades Park.

Go 2.2 miles and turn right on Live Oak Plantation Road.

Site #1 LIVE OAK PLANTATION

Please respect this Private Property

Once the antebellum plantation of Territorial Governor John Branch, this land became part of Leon County’s first hunting plantations. Members of the Ronald’s family of Scotland began purchasing acreage in 1887. By 1924 the family had acquired 3,226 acres and established Leon County’s first golf course on their land. The wooden cottage to your left was the residence of the manager of the hunting plantation.

Go .4 miles and turn left (north) on Thomasville Road.

Go north 1.2 miles and turn left into Alfred B. Maclay State Gardens.

Site #2 ALFRED B. MACLAY STATE GARDENS

3540 Thomasville Road

Open 8am-Sunset

While Maclay bought his Leon County property for hunting, gardening was his true love. Flowering shrubs and landscaped gardens dominate this former hunting estate. In 1923, New York financier Alfred B. Maclay began purchasing property, calling, it Killearn after his, ancestral village in Scotland. 

Over time, he amassed 3,760 acres of land. He soon began designing ornamental gardens, his beautiful legacy to this community Special features include the Camellia Walk, Walled Garden, Secret Garden, and Lakeside Path. After his death, his wife later donated 307 acres to the state. Today, close to 100 varieties of camellias and 50 varieties of azaleas burst in glorious color from December through April. Other exotic and native flowering plants provide drama throughout much of the rest of the year. Maclay is one of four ornamental gardens in Florida.

Turn left on Thomasville Road stop at the historic marker on

right, then continue north on Thomasville Road.

Site #3 DE SOTO TRAIL MARKER

Although the exact route of Hernando de Soto’s expedition through Florida is not known, this marker discusses his travels through this area of the state.

THOMASVILLE ROAD- A Canopy Road

Antebellum plantations once lined Thomasville Road, subsequently replaced by tenant farms and hunting plantations. Early this century the road was realigned to become part of the Dixie Highway, linking Chicago with Miami. Small wooden houses along this road often belong to descendants of tenant farmers who worked the land through the 1950s.

HUNTING PLANTATIONS

Much of Tallahassee’s Red Hills were once covered with open longleaf pine forests. In prehistoric times, this area was covered with longleaf pine forest interspersed with “old fields” used by natives for agriculture. By the early part of this century, the land along, Thomasville Road was

associated with, hunting plantations. A relatively small hunting plantation, Millstone encompassed around 500 acres which were amassed in the 1930s. It was named after a millstone from an old grist mill located on the property.

Site #4 CHEROKEE AND FOSHALEE PLANTATIONS

Private Property

These are among the oldest quail preserves in Leon County still in continuous use. The Duke of Windsor hunted here, as did heirs to the Singer Sewing Machine and Manhattan Life Insurance Company fortunes. In 1922 Henry Payne Whitney, a New York financier and sportsman, purchased over 10,000 acres. He called the estate Foshalee from the Native American word for “dry water.” Tenant farmers actively worked the land through the 1950s, and then commercial timbering became predominant. Foshalee was later spilt into two preserves, Cherokee being bought by the Ingalls family, and Foshalee by the Ireland family. Quail are still hunted here.

Site # 5 HORSESHOE PLANTATION

Private Property

An industrialist who made his fortune in shipping, Clement Griscom began amassing Leon County land in 1901. By the time of his death in 1911, his plantation, Horseshoe, encompassed 10,000 acres. George Baker, Jr., chairman of the First National Bank of New York, acquired 6,500 of those acres, later adding another 4,000 acres. Among luminaries who visited Horseshoe were Bing Crosby, who wrote a song about hunting quail on the plantation.

Turn left on County Road 12. Continue 2.5 miles

Turn left on Iamonia Landing Road.

 Site # 6 LAKE IAMONIA LANDING

This detour provides a scenic overlook of Lake lamonia (pronounced “Ammonia”). The lake was named after a Seminole town, “Hiamonee,” which Was located on the banks of the Ocholockonee River.

Return to County Road 12 and turn left.

Continue .5 miles and turn left at Tall Timbers.

Site # 7 TALL TIMBERS RESEARCH STATION

County Road 12

Open MonFri 8-4:30; Tours by Appointment

Located on the north shore of Lake lamonia, Tall Timbers spans 4,000 acres of rolling land. Today, Tall Timbers has an international reputation for its studies in fire ecology and wildlife habitat management. 

In antebellum times the land was part of Woodlawn Plantation. Edward Beadel of New York purchased, Tall Timbers in 1895, designing and building the rustic hunting lodge. His nephew, Henry, inherited the property and re-designed lodge to its current appearance. Henry Beadel’s passion was natural history. 

Along with other plantation owners, in 1924 he sponsored a scientific investigation into the decline of the local quail population. This established the premise on which Tall Timbers Research, Inc. was founded. On bright spring days, when you see the smoke from hundreds of acres of Leon County land being burned, this is a legacy of Tall Timbers. The work here was even studied by naturalist and writer Aldo Leopold.

At 3.4 miles turn left on Meridian Road.

 Continue .6 miles to the Bannerman Brothers Farm.

Site #8 Bannerman Brothers Farm

Please respect this Private Property

The 1930’s tobacco barn to your left is the only one still remaining in Leon County. To the right is a commissary from early this century.

Driving south on Meridian Road, you traverse land once owned by the Bannerman family. By 1860, Charles Bannerman had a cotton plantation encompassing 1,540 acres. His grandsons, Will and Hunter Bannerman, began farming here in the early 1900’s, formally establishing Bannerman Brothers Partnership in 1931. They grew shade tobacco, used for cigar wrappers, under cotton tents to protect it from the hot sun. The brothers built several large tobacco barns, including the one on the left, to dry tobacco before shipping it to market. The commissary on the right was built around 1910. Tenant farmers were not paid cash for their work, instead receiving tickets, only redeemable for goods at the commissary.

Continue south on Meridian Road 2.8 miles and, note the swampy terrain associated, with Lake lamonia.

After another 6.9 miles turn tight on Miller Landing Road.

Site #9 Miller Landing

Young live oaks line the road, creating a new canopy. Drive along this peaceful route to a scenic overlook, at Lake Jackson. This lake was named for Florida Territorial Governor and later U.S. President Andrew Jackson. A kiosk includes information on the natural environment in this area.

Return to town via historic Meridian Road, Leon County’s rich, natural and historic resources mingle along its canopy roads. 

This public domain Publication was originally prepared by the Historic Tallahassee Preservation board, with assistance from the Tallahassee Area Convention and Visitor Bureau. It was field checked, reviewed, and updated in 2012 by Will Holcomb.