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.