BITS OF FLORIDA HISTORY Address to Tallahassee Kiwanis Club By Justice James B. Whitfield of the Florida Supreme Court. 1928 TALLAHASSEE, Feb. 29.—Following interesting address on Florida history was delivered here at the recent meet- ing of the Tallahassee Kiwanis club by Justice James B. Whitfield of the Flor- ida supreme court: "About twenty years after the discov- ery of America by Columbus in 1492, Juan Ponce de Leon, a Spanish officer, landed on the Atlantic coast at a point south of the mouth of the St. Johns river early in the year of 1513, and pro- ciamed the right of Spain to the coun- try by virtue of discovery, Indians be- ing then the only inhabitants. The country was called Florida, perhaps because the shore was sighted on Easter Sunday, called Pascua Florida in the Spanish language, or because of the abundant native flora. In October, 1528, the first landing of white men on Pensacola bay was made. DeSota landed at Tampa bay May 25, 1539. St. Augustine was founded in 1565. There were also important trading ports on the Apalachicola, Suwannee and other rivers. For more than two centuries the kingdom of Spain claimed sovereignty over and maintained settlements in the territory called Florida which originally extended from the Atlantic ocean to the Mississippi river. In the course of time the town of St. Marks on the gulf was established and for many decades it was the commercial port for all the country north, east and west extending into Georgia. Fort San Luis, two miles west of Tallahassee, was one of the principal Spanish towns. It was fortified and was in the midst of the Indian Fowl Towns. From 1763 to 1783 the Floridas were under the dominion of Great Britain, the territory east of the Apalachicola river being called East Florida, and all west of that river was called West Florida. 5 American State Papers p. 756. Treaty of Amity. The Treaty of Amity, Settlement and Limits dated February 22, 1819, by which Spain ceded to the United States the provinces then known as East and West Florida, was ratified, approved and proclaimed as effective on Febru- ary 22, 1821, at Washington, D. C. By virtue of an act of congress approved March 3, 1821, the president of the United States, James Monroe, appoint- ed Maj. Gen. Andrew Jackson as gover- nor of the Floridas, and authorized him to receive the Floridas from Spain and to establish a government under the constitution and laws of the Unit- ited States, subject to the authority of the president under the act of congress. General Jackson appointed Maj. Robert Butler to receive East Florida, which he did at St. Augustine on July 10, 1821; and on July 17, 1821, West Florida was transferred to General Jackson at Pen- sacola. Formal proclamation of the charge of governments was made and into force. By ordinance Governor Jackson divided the provinces into two counties, Escambia being west and St. Johns being east of the Suwannee riv- er. Local courts and administrative of- ficers were established by Governor Jackson and ordinances were adopted and proclaimed by him for the govern- ment of the Floridas and for the en- forcement of health regulations. Wil- liam P. Duval of Kentucky was ap- pointed United States judge for East Florida and Eligius Fromentin of Louisiana, judge for West Florida. Rob- ert Butler was appointed surveyor gen- eral. Having established a government in the Floridas, Andrew Jackson, in Oc- tober, 1821, returned to Tennessee, leaving George Walton, secretary and acting governor of West Florida at Pensacola, and W. G. D. Worthington, secretary and acting governor of East Florida at St. Augustine. The two Floridas were formed into territory of Florida by an act of congress approved March 30, 1822. The Tallahassee section was in East Florida, afterwards in Escambia coun- ty, then in Jackson county, later in Gadsden county and finally in Leon county which later county at first ex- tended from the Ocklockonee river to the Suwannee river and from the Geor- gia line to the Gulf of Mexico. Since then several other counties have been formed from the original Leon county. Governors of Florida. Governor Jackson having resigned as governor of the Floridas was succeeded by William P. Duval, then judge of East Florida, who became the first governor of the territory of Florida. The other territorial governors were John H. Eaton, R. K. Call, Robert Ray- mond Reid and John Branch. Governor Eaton and Governor Branch had been members of the Andrew Jackson cabi- net and each had been a United States senator. Governor Branch had also been governor of North Carolina. R. K. Call was twice governor of the territo- ry of Florida. Robert Raymond Reid had been a judge in Georgia and also in East Florida. The first territorial legislative council met in Pensacola on the second Monday in June, 1822. J. C. Bronough was president and John Coppington Connor, clerk of the first council. During the session of the council yellow fever appeared in Pen- sacola and both the president and the clerk of the council died of the fever. The subsequent sessions of the first council were held at a nearby county place. Edmond Law was chosen presi- dent and Robert Mitchel clerk of the council. The second council met in St. Augustine on the first Monday in May, 1823. George Murray was president and F. J. Fatio clerk. Beginning on the sec- ond Monday in November, 1824, the an- nual meetings of the territorial legisla- tive council were held in Tallahassee, the seat of government. Joseph M. Her- nandez of St. Augustine was president and Samuel Fry clerk of the third leg- islative council at Tallahassee. Later Joseph M. Hernandez became the first delegate from the territory of Florida to the United States congress. George Walton was secretary of the territory of Florida and acted as governor in the absence of the governor. He was suc- ceeded by W. M. McCarty. Another se- cretary of the territory of Florida was James D. Westcott who was afterwards United States senator from Florida, 1845-1849. George K. Walker was se- cretary under Gov. John H. Eaton and acted as governor in the absence of the governor. Other secretaries of the ter- ritory of Florida were: John P. Duval, Joseph McCants and Thomas H. Duval. Davis Floyd, Charles H. Austin and H. L. Rutgers were treasurers. John V Gary, Thomas Brown and John Miller were auditors. Seat of Government. A territorial act to provide for es- tablishing a seat of government in the territory of Florida, adopted by the second legislative council held at St. by the Seminoles, who as "run-away" Creeks (muskokis) came into Florida long after the raids of devastation and depopulation of the country by forces from colonial South Carolina, in the early part of the Eighteenth century, in retaliation for a Spanish expedition against Charleston. It was not until about 1808 that the Seminoles in- habitated the country around Talla- hassee, where they occupied and themselves later deserted the "old fields" of their predecessors Following the activities of the military forces un- der Major General Andrew Jackson at St. Marks and to the north of it, and in his march to the "old town" In- dian settlements on the Suwannee river, the subsequent treaty of Moul- trie Creek, September 18, 1823, and finally by result of the Indian war of 1835-1842 the Seminoles were re- moved from the vicinity of Tallahassee, and eventually from Florida except the few hundred Seminoles who now oc- cupy reservations in the southern end of the peninsula. The Fowl Towns In the year 1750, a noted Creek chief, Secoffee, with many follows settled in Alachua, and in 1808 another band of Creeks settled in the Tallahassee section where the Micasuki tribe al- ready in possession soon antagonized the Creeks called Seminoles in antagonism to the advance of the white immi- grants. In the Tallahassee section of Florida, the Indian villages were known as the Fowl Towns. It was from the towns destroyed by General Jack- son made upon the white settlements in Georgia and Alabama, that resulted in the destruction of the Indian towns by United States troops under Major Gen- eral Andrew Jackson in 1818. Among the towns destroyed by General Jack- son were, Cahalahatchee, Tallahassee, Cheticoke's Town on the south side of Lake Lafayette; Tapalga on Talla- hatchee creek, and Ben Burgers' tow on Lake Ayavalla, now Lake Jackson presumably southwest of the present city of Tallahassee. The Indian mounds that appear so often in this section of the country, are perhaps the products of the coun- tury which came to Florida. Arrow heads made of flint and pieces of pottery and other relics that formerly were so common in this state belonged perhaps to the ancient Indians who proceeded to the advent of white men to the American continent. Meaning of Tallahassee. The meaning of "Tallahassee" as based upon etymological analysis (con- forming to the ancient language from which it came) appears to be "Hill of the great light of the dawn which comes from the spirit of the Sun:" or, more concisely, "Hill consecrated to the Sun God." This accords with the habit of thought, life and conduct of the earliest known Indian inhabi- tants, as also with the topography and outlook where the ancient In- dians had their settlements, which locality was later selected for the seat government of the Territory and State of Florida, and by statute given the name "Tallahassee" that relates to the language and history of Indian inhabitants prior to the coming of the first Europeans. On July 9, 1824, Robert Butler, sur- vayor general was instructed to "cause the south east corner of the quarter section selected by act of congress, May 24, 1824, for the permanent seat government to be fixed as the point from which the principal meridian and parallel shall run." By this means the intersection of the old Spanish road and the Indian trail became the initial point of the established Tallahassee Meridian and Parallel Base Line. The spot is now monument in the southeastern part of the city of Tallahassee. A Spanish town called San Luis lo- cated two miles west of the city of Tallahassee, where the place known tion became a part of Tallahassee. The southwest quarter of the section on which Tallahassee is located, was at first conveyed to Gadsden county be- fore Leon county was formed and it is known as the county quarter. Principal Meridian. The Tallahassee principal meridian was established in 1824, under the au- thority contained in a letter dated July 9, 1824, from the commissioner of the general land office of the United States to Col. Robert Butler, United States surveyor general for Florida, appointed under the authority of Section 6 of the act of congress approved May 8, 1822, (3 Stats. at Large, 718). In the letter Colonel Butler was directed to survey the lands near the seat of government of the territory of Florida and to initiate the surveys thereof upon the southeast corner of the location selected by the governor of the ter- ritory under the provisions of the act of congress of May 24, 1824, (4 Stats. at Large 30), for the seat of govern- ment. Later in that year 1824, the Tallahassee base and meridian were surveyed from the authorized initial point at the southeast corner of the location selected for the seat of govern- ment, such point being "situated about a mile southwest from the de- serted fields of Tallahassee, about a mile south of the Ocklocknee and Tal- lhassee trails at a point where the old Spanish road is intersected by a small trail running southwestwardly. The point of intersection of the Tallahas- see principal meridian and the parallel base line so established is at latitude 84 16' 42" west from Greenwich and latitude 30 deg. 28' north from the equator. At Greenwich, a southeastern borough of London, England, is situ- ated the Royal Observatory of Green- wich, from the meridian of which ge- grapers and navigators of nearly all nations count their longitude.