Francis Eppes Plantation
Encyclopedia
Leon County, Florida
Leon County is a county located in the state of Florida, named after the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León. At the 2010 Census, the population was 275,487. The county seat of Leon County is Tallahassee which also serves as the state capital. The county seat is home to two of Florida's major...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and established by Francis W. Eppes
Francis W. Eppes
Francis Wayles Eppes VII was the grandson of President Thomas Jefferson. After moving from Virginia with his family to near Tallahassee, Florida in 1829, he established a cotton plantation. In 1856 Eppes donated land and money to gain the location in Tallahassee of one of the first two...
in 1829.
Location
The Francis Eppes Plantation bordered Evergreen Hills PlantationEvergreen Hills Plantation
Evergreen Hills Plantation was a large cotton plantation of 6700 acres located in eastern Leon County, Florida, United States established by Green A. Chaires.-Location:Evergreen Hills was located in 2 tracts...
on the east, La Grange Plantation
La Grange Plantation
La Grange Plantation was a large cotton plantation of located in central Leon County, Florida, USA established by Joseph John Williams.-Location:La Grange Plantation was located just east of Tallahassee in 2 tracts of land...
on the north, and the northeast tip of Southwood Plantation
Southwood Plantation
Southwood Plantation was a large cotton plantation of located in southern Leon County, Florida, United States and owned by George Taliafero Ward.-Location:Southwood Plantation bordered the Francis Eppes Plantation on the north and the R. G...
on the south. The plantation was located on both north and south shores of Lake Lafayette, Florida
Lake Lafayette, Florida
Lake Lafayette is a prairie lake located in the coastal lowland in eastern Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida with US 27 / State Road 20 running close on its south side.- Prehistoric :Lake Lafayette is the remnant of a Pleistocene river delta...
. Today that land encompasses the neighborhoods around Buck Lake including western Buck Lake Road, southern Pedrick Road, Planters Ridge Drive, Heritage Park Blvd and Doyle Conner Blvd.
Plantation specifics
The Leon County Florida 1860 Agricultural Census shows that the Francis Eppes Plantation had the following:- Improved Land: 950 acres (4 km²)
- Unimproved Land: 970 acres (4 km²)
- Cash value of plantation: $United States dollarThe United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
24,000 - Cash value of farm implements/machinery: $500
- Cash value of farm animals: $3000
- Number of slaves: 70
Owner
Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson
Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson, born Martha Wayles was the wife of Thomas Jefferson, who was the third President of the United States. It was her second marriage, as her first husband had died young...
and Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
. Eppes came to Leon County in 1829 with his wife Mary and numerous slaves from Virginia, including some descendants of Betsy Hemmings
John Wayles Eppes
John Wayles Eppes was an attorney, a United States Representative and a Senator from Virginia. One of the planter class, he married his first cousin Maria Jefferson, the youngest surviving daughter of Martha Wayles Skelton and Thomas Jefferson...
, his nurse and a matriarch of the slave community at his childhood home of Millbrook. While the territory was under Spanish rule, Eppes served as Intendant (mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
) of Tallahassee. He is noted for initiating the proposal to locate a state-supported seminary in Tallahassee, which eventually developed into Florida State University
Florida State University
The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
.
Eppes sold his plantation during the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
for Confederate money. He lost the remainder of his investment and slaves by 1865, when they were freed. Eppes left Tallahassee for Orange County
Orange County, Florida
Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida and is part of the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford Metropolitan Statistical Area . As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 1,145,956....
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
to begin citrus
Citrus
Citrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the rue family, Rutaceae. Citrus is believed to have originated in the part of Southeast Asia bordered by Northeastern India, Myanmar and the Yunnan province of China...
farming.