Tallahassee
Capital of Florida, in Leon County; population (2000 est) 150,600. It is an agricultural and lumbering centre, trading in cotton, tobacco, and cattle. Industries include publishing, food-processing, and the manufacture of forest products, building materials, and textiles. The city was incorporated in 1825.
History
An American Indian Apalachee settlement occupied the site from 500 onwards. The Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto arrived in the area in 1539, and the Spanish established a mission settlement called Fort Louis at the site in 1633. This area was destroyed by the British in 1704 after which the Apalachees left the area. They were replaced by Creek and other Native Americans. The city was founded in 1824 to serve as Florida's territorial capital and a railway was built in 1834. During the American Civil War, Tallahassee was the only Confederate capital east of the Mississippi River not captured by Union troops, and many pre–Civil War mansions remain.
Features Initially, log cabins served as the capitol; a masonry capitol was started in 1826, but had not been completed when the New State Capitol was started in 1839, opening in 1845. This was added to over the years, with wings built in 1902, and now serves as the Museum of Florida History (1982); it is one of 47 entries on the national register of historic places. The New State Capitol (1977) is a tower block with a gallery on its 22nd storey. Education and cultural institutions include Florida State University (1857), Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (1887), the LeMoyne Art Foundation (1964), and the Museum of Art and Odyssey Science Centre (1998). |
