Miccosukee, Florida
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...
. It is located at the junction of County Road 59
State Road 59 (Florida)
State Road 59 runs north to south through the eastern Florida Panhandle, with a northern terminus at US 90 near Lloyd, and a southern terminus at US 98 in rural Jefferson County....
(Veterans Memorial Drive) and County Road 151
State Road 151 (Florida)
State Road 151, now County Road 151, is a former state route in northeastern Leon County, Florida.Beginning at the junction of State Road 265 and Seventh Avenue, the route runs north along Centerville Road across Capital Circle to County Road 142 in Miccosukee....
(Moccasin Gap Road). Miccosukee was a major center of the Miccosukee
Miccosukee
The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida are a federally recognized Native American tribe in the U.S. state of Florida. They were part of the Seminole nation until the mid-20th century, when they organized as an independent tribe, receiving federal recognition in 1962...
tribe, one of the tribes of the developing Seminole
Seminole
The Seminole are a Native American people originally of Florida, who now reside primarily in that state and Oklahoma. The Seminole nation emerged in a process of ethnogenesis out of groups of Native Americans, most significantly Creeks from what is now Georgia and Alabama, who settled in Florida in...
nation, during the 18th century.
Geography
Miccosukee, like other unincorporated areas in northern Leon County, is an area of rolling hills dotted with ponds and lakes. The large, swampSwamp
A swamp is a wetland with some flooding of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a large number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp...
y Lake Miccosukee
Lake Miccosukee
Lake Miccosukee is a large swampy prairie lake in northern Jefferson County, Florida, USA, located east of the settlement of Miccosukee. A small portion of the lake, its northwest corner, is located in Leon County.-Characteristics:...
borders the eastern edge of the community.
History
Miccosukee
The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida are a federally recognized Native American tribe in the U.S. state of Florida. They were part of the Seminole nation until the mid-20th century, when they organized as an independent tribe, receiving federal recognition in 1962...
tribe, a group of Creek
Creek people
The Muscogee , also known as the Creek or Creeks, are a Native American people traditionally from the southeastern United States. Mvskoke is their name in traditional spelling. The modern Muscogee live primarily in Oklahoma, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida...
origin who had settled in 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...
and become part of the developing Seminole
Seminole
The Seminole are a Native American people originally of Florida, who now reside primarily in that state and Oklahoma. The Seminole nation emerged in a process of ethnogenesis out of groups of Native Americans, most significantly Creeks from what is now Georgia and Alabama, who settled in Florida in...
nation. The Miccosukee often fought armed battles with white settlers. It was mapped by the British
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
in 1778 and originally called Mikasuki with 60 homes, 28 families, and a town square. Some 70 gunmen protected the town. It was the capital of the short-lived State of Muskogee
State of Muskogee
The State of Muskogee was a proclaimed sovereign nation located in Florida, founded in 1799 and led by William Augustus Bowles, a Loyalist veteran of the American Revolutionary War who lived among the Muscogee, and envisioned uniting the American Indians of the Southeast into a single nation that...
.
In 1818, Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...
invaded the village and defeated village chief Kinhagee. In 1831, the U.S. Post Office was built along with schools, churches, and stores. Eventually the area became a center of cotton plantations as was most of Leon County. Miccosukee had 2 cotton plantations nearby in Ingleside Plantation
Ingleside Plantation
Ingleside Plantation was a medium sized cotton plantation of located in extreme northeast Leon County, Florida and established by Joel C. Blake.-Location:...
and Blakely Plantation
Blakely Plantation
Blakely was a small cotton plantation of located in extreme northeast Leon County, Florida and established by Miles Blake.-Location:Blakely was bounded on the east by Susan's son's Ingleside Plantation and would have been bound on the west by what is now County Road 59...
.
After 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...
, the area reverted to farms and by 1887, the Florida Central Railroad
Florida Central Railroad (defunct)
The Florida Central Railroad, headquartered in Thomasville, Georgia, constructed a 47 mile line between that city and Fanlew, Florida in 1907 and 1908.The first 10 miles ran from Thomasville to the lumber mill in Metcalf, Georgia, then on to Roddenberry...
served Miccosukee. During the 1890s, wealthy industrialists bought large tracts of land for quail hunting plantations or estates removing thousands of acres of land from agricultural production. Miccosukee thrived until the boll weevil
Boll weevil
The boll weevil is a beetle measuring an average length of six millimeters, which feeds on cotton buds and flowers. Thought to be native to Central America, it migrated into the United States from Mexico in the late 19th century and had infested all U.S. cotton-growing areas by the 1920s,...
infestation of 1918. The Great Depression (1929-1935) destroyed Leon County's agriculture and the railroad pulled out in the mid 1940s.
Historical Places
- Concord Elementary School was built in 1934 in the town of Miccosukee for grades 1-6. It was closed in the mid-1980s. The building is still used for Miccosukee's Head Start program.
- Van Brunt-Morris HouseVan Brunt HouseThe Van Brunt House is a historic home in Miccosukee, northeastern Leon County, Florida, US.-Location:Van Brunt House is located on State Road 59, north of the junction with Moccasin Gap Road...
just north of the junction of State Road 59State Road 59 (Florida)State Road 59 runs north to south through the eastern Florida Panhandle, with a northern terminus at US 90 near Lloyd, and a southern terminus at US 98 in rural Jefferson County....
and Moccasin Gap Road. - Averitt-Winchester HouseAveritt-Winchester HouseThe Averitt-Winchester House is a historic home in Miccosukee, Florida, United States. It is located on the west side of State Road 59, south of the Moccasin Gap-Cromartie Road junction. On November 15, 1996, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.-References and external...
- Miccosukee Methodist ChurchMiccosukee Methodist ChurchThe Miccosukee Methodist Church is a historic church in Miccosukee, Florida. It is located ont County Road 59, south of the junction with State Road 151. On June 28, 1996, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.-References and external links:* at * ** **...
- Strickland-Herold HouseStrickland-Herold HouseThe Strickland-Herold House is a historic home in Miccosukee, Florida, United States. It is located at Main Street, northwest of junction of Moccasin Gap Road and State Road 59. On January 9, 1997, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places....
NW of the junction State Road 59 and Moccasin Gap Road.
Civil War History
During the Civil WarAmerican 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...
, soldiers from Miccosukee enlisted in Company K, 5th Florida Infantry and Company B, 1st Florida Cavalry. The following soldiers are interred at Runners Cemetery and other locations.
- Pvt. Walter H. Averitt - Born December 24, 1841 in North Carolina. More details
- 3rd Lieutenant Walter Richard Blake, Jr. - Born January 13, 1836 in Leon County. More details
- 2nd Corporal C. Washington Branch - Born 1838 in Leon County More details.
- Captain Isham Miles Blake - Born May 3, 1837 in Leon County. More details
- Pvt. Leonidas Byrd - Birth date unknown. More details
- Pvt. John Alexander Cromartie - Born August 14, 1834 in North CarolinaNorth CarolinaNorth Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
More details. - 4th Sergeant Jesse Sinclair Montford - Born June 13, 1829 in Leon County. More details
Political
| Miccosukee Governmental Representation | ||
|---|---|---|
| Position | Name | Party |
| County Commission At-Large | Cliff Thaell | Democrat |
| County Commission At-Large | Akin Akinyemi | Democrat |
| Commissioner Dist. 4 | Bryan Desloge | Republican |
| U.S. House | Steve Southerland Steve Southerland Steve Southerland is a Tennessee politician and a member of the Tennessee Senate representing the 1st district, which encompasses Cocke County, Greene County, Hamblen County, and Unicoi County. He was elected to the 103rd, 104th, and 105th General Assemblies and currently serves as a member of the... |
Republican |
| Florida House | Michelle Vasilinda Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda is an attorney and community college professor living in Tallahassee, Florida.Vasilinda was born in Rochester, New York and is a Democratic politician who serves as the member of the Florida House of Representatives from District 9. Vasilinda came to Florida in 1977... |
Democrat |
Community Facilities
- Concord School - Served as a Leon County elementary school until it closed in 1985. The school yard now serves as a county park.
- The Miccosukee Community Center is administered by the Tallahassee-Leon County Parks and Recreation Department. The center is used for a variety of activities including monthly "Senior Outreach" days.
- Reeves Landing is a public boat launching facility on Lake Miccosukee just East of the village.
Notable Miccosukee Groups and Organizations
- Miccosukee Volunteer Fire-Rescue has a fire station in the village of Miccosukee on Cromartie Road.
- Miccosukee Youth Education Foundation
