"Early History of Gadsden County" is now available for Amazon Kindle

I'm pleased to announce that The Early History of Gadsden County is now available for download for your Amazon Kindle. The cost is just $7.99 and the profit will go to the West Gadsden Historical Society.

The book delves into many of the unique events from the past of Gadsden County. Included are details on early exploration and the Hernando de Soto expedition's march through the county, the Spanish mission era, Scott's Massacre of 1817 and the First Seminole War, early settlement, the U.S. Arsenal at Chattahoochee, discovery of the Torreya tree, development of the tobacco industry, the McLane Massacre, forts of the Second Seminole War, the capture of the arsenal at Chattahoochee, the C.S.S. Chattahoochee and Gadsden County's role at the Battle of Natural Bridge.

The book is also available in printed form through www.exploresouthernhistory.com/dalecox or your favorite online bookstore, as well as at the Twin City News in Chattahoochee, Shear Attitudes in Havana and Padgett Jewelers, Mr. Earnest Pecan Shop and the office of Dr. Sterling Watson, all in Quincy. The book is available in Marianna at Chipola River Book and Tea on Lafayette Street downtown.

Remembering Gadsden County Cigars

The news today that the newly approved Federal tobacco tax will increase the tax on hand rolled Florida cigars by 500% brought to mind the days when Gadsden County was a major producer of hand rolled cigars.

Let me say first that I don't smoke and never have, nor do I encourage it, but I am not aware of any problem with kids being addicted to expensive hand-rolled Florida cigars. The new tax was designed to make tobacco products too expensive for kids to buy. Industry executives in South Florida say it will most likely make it too expensive for them to continue to produce any cigars in Florida, driving the 2 billion dollar industry off-shore.

Gadsden County was once a major center, in fact, the center for this Florida industry. It was in Gadsden County that high quality tobacco for cigars was first grown in Florida. The following is excerpted from my 2008 book, The Early History of Gadsden County:

-Excerpt-

When the Comte de Castelnau visited Gadsden County in 1837 and 1838, he reported seeing many “fine cotton plantations” between Quincy and the Ochlockonee River, but his eye was more captivated by another crop that was producing amazing fortunes in the region – tobacco:

Cuban tobacco succeeds remarkably well in Middle Florida, and particularly in the light and somewhat sandy soils around Quincy. It requires continual care, as it is attacked by many insects. A slave cannot take care of more than two acres. It is recognized that tobacco requires new land, and generally the same ground is planted to it only two years and then it is planted to corn or cotton. It is felt that this manner of cultivation can be followed only in a country where the land is cheap. This product has been considered the most profitable of all and some small planters have made from three to five thousand francs from the work of each slave.

Tobacco was introduced to Florida as an agricultural crop by Governor William P. Duval during the 1820s and was first tried on a commercial scale by John Smith of Gadsden County. Smith experimented with both the “Little Duval” variety introduced by Governor Duval as well as with the “Florida Leaf,” a somewhat larger variety.

The history of tobacco production in Gadsden County was well told by Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles H. DuPont in an 1875 address to the Florida Fruit Growers Association:

The first reliable experiment that was made with the Cuba tobacco as a market crop, was inaugurated about the year 1830 by Mr. John Smith, a citizen of Gadsden county, who had recently immigrated from the State of Virginia, and was well acquainted with the culture of the Virginia chewing tobacco. His first experiment was with the, "Little Duval," but the demand for the "Wrapper" leaf becoming urgent, and the product per acre being much larger, he abandoned the former and confined his attention exclusively to the latter. His extraordinary success attracted the attention of the non-slaveholders and other small planters, and with them it soon became a staple market crop, and with the large cotton planters an extra crop, which without curtailing the amount of cotton produced, usually paid all the expenses of the plantation.

The Comte de Castelnau, during his brief visit to Quincy in February of 1838, described how a number of workers had come to Gadsden County from Cuba and were then engaged in the manufacture of cigars. Although they usually hesitated to allow visitors to see the interiors of their shops, they agreed to his request:

…They begin by taking a package of leaves, and they moisten them by sprinkling them with water which they hold in their mouths, and expel a very fine spray. They then take a leaf, place it on a layer of cork, and by means of a very sharp instrument smooth it, and obliquely cut the ends which are put in the center to form the inside of the cigar. It is then rolled and quickly assumes the form in which it is sold.

Castelnau noted that smokers of the day preferred “spotted cigars” and reported that these were created by sprinkling regular cigars with acid.

By 1850, of the 998,614 pounds of tobacco grown in Florida, 776,177 pounds were produced in Gadsden County. By 1860, the total had grown to more than one million pounds. Although he was never a cotton producer, Chief Justice DuPont was a well-placed resident of Gadsden County and had no difficulty recognizing the impact of the leaf on the local economy. He left little doubt that while cotton may have been king in much of the antebellum South, tobacco was most certainly the prince of Gadsden County. DuPont waxed philosophical in his description of its role in advancing civilization in the county:

…While it required no outlay of capital, it gave a return for the labor expended beyond the most sanguine anticipations. It furnished light and pleasant employment for the entire family, embracing wife and children, and by their united efforts they were greeted at the end of the year with a cash surplus over and above the provision necessary to be made for the supply of their physical wants. With this surplus annually accumulating comes the budding of a manly and commend able ambition. The father contemplates himself, and then looks upon his children as they gather around the domestic hearth: he becomes conscious of his own deficiencies, and forthwith registers in his swelling bosom the manly resolve that his children shall realize advantages which he never enjoyed. Soon the little log meeting-house undergoes repairs and enlargement, and others are erected for the more comfortable accommodation of the neighborhood. The preacher, in his visits to his weekly appointments, receives a warmer pressure of the hand that greets him, and a more cordial invitation to partake of the hospitality of the farm-house. The cry goes out, too, for the inauguration of a higher grade of schools than is usually found in the sparsely-populated new country. The cry increases and increases until it reaches to an imperative demand. Then the few educated men of the county meet in council to deliberate on the subject, and the result of that, deliberation is an application to the Legislative Council for a charter of incorporation for the establishment of the "Quincy Academy."

The academy described by DuPont still stands today in Quincy. The idea of an academy originated in the county in 1828 and the Legislative Council approved the incorporation of the Quincy Academy in 1832. Closely associated with the Washington Lodge Number 1, the academy was actually one of several schools established in early Gadsden County and provided educational opportunities for both boys and girls. When the female facility was destroyed by fire (along with the Gadsden County Courthouse) in 1849, the move was begun to build the structure that still stands. It was completed in 1851.

Tobacco by 1844 was producing more in wealth for Gadsden County than cotton and had long outlasted sugar cane as a commercial crop. Its impact on the county and its economy, stimulated by the development of the shade tobacco process, continued well into the 20th century and a number of charming old tobacco barns still stand as reminders of this crop that created thousands of jobs and pumped millions of dollars into Gadsden County for well over 100 years.

- End of Excerpt -

The Early History of Gadsden County is available through the West Gadsden Historical Society and benefits their work to preserve and interpret the history of Gadsden County. It is also available from Amazon.com by clicking here.

Ellicott's Observatory - A Key Moment in Gadsden County, History

The man seen here is Andrew Ellicott, a contemporary and friend of President George Washington and the man assigned to survey the permanent border between the United States and Spanish Florida.

In 1799 he and his men camped on the present-day site of Chattahoochee, where they conducted astronomical observations to help determine the exact location of the boundary.

The story of Ellicott's Observatory is told in one of the chapters in the new book, The Early History of Gadsden County. If you are interested in obtaining a copy, they can be ordered online by clicking here or from the West Gadsden Historical Society at PO Box D, Greensboro, FL 32330-0803 for $25.00 plus $5 shipping and handling. You can call them for more information at (850) 442-6434 or (850) 442-4041.

Here is the first of a series of excerpts from the Ellicott's Observatory chapter that I will be posting over coming days:

(Excerpt from Chapter Five)

Spain lost control of Florida as a result of the French and Indian War, but regained control of its North American colony in 1783 due to its alliance with the fledgling United States during the American Revolution. Even though they had been allies in the war against Great Britain, however, the two countries soon became uneasy neighbors. Settlers in the southern states looked hungrily to Florida and the Gulf Coast. The old European power found itself faced with an unexpectedly rising American power.

The location of the true border between the two countries became a major issue and following extensive negotiations, the United States and Spain signed the Treaty of San Lorenzo in 1795.

Ratified the following year, the document provided that permanent border between Spanish Florida and the territory of the United States would run east along the 31st parallel to the Chattahoochee River. From the point where the line intersected the river, it would turn south down the center of the Chattahoochee to the tip of the point of land at its confluence with the Flint. From there the line would again turn east and run to the headwaters of the St. Mary’s River, thence down that stream to the Atlantic.

This was all well and good, but neither nation knew exactly where the 31st parallel lay and no one had ever explored the St. Mary’s River sufficiently to find its actual head. As a result it was necessary to employ a joint surveying team to mark the border and establish the line once and for all. The United States designated Andrew Ellicott as its Commissioner of Limits. Spain selected James Dunbar, who was eventually replaced by Stephen Minor.

One of the young nation’s most distinguished surveyors, Ellicott was a native of Maryland and had served during the American Revolution as a major in the Maryland militia. His previous work included the 1786 survey of the western border of Pennsylvania and, of particular note, his 1791 project undertaken at the request of President George Washington to establish the limits for the new District of Columbia. He was one of the men responsible for the unique street design of Washington, D.C.

Spain’s original commissioner, James Dunbar, fell ill before the survey project could begin and was replaced by Captain Stephen Minor of Natchez. A native of Pennsylvania, Minor had served in the Spanish army during the American Revolution and was at the captures of Mobile and Pensacola during that war. A planter, official and commander of the Spanish fort in Natchez, Mississippi, he was a leading figure of his time.

Ellicott and Minor began work on the Mobile River in Alabama in 1799, accompanied by a large team of surveyors, contractors and Spanish troops. The soldiers provided protection for the party against the Creeks, a necessity because the two countries were illegally dividing lands that really belonged to someone else, the Creek Nation. A council was convened with leaders of the Upper Creeks at Pensacola to explain that neither country intended to take any of their lands, but instead were engaged in drawing a line to establish the limits of influence agreed to between the two countries. The Lower Creeks and Seminoles were not represented at the council, but the Spanish governor sent emissaries to them to explain the project.

Ellicott and Minor began the survey by conducting astronomical observations on the Mobile River to determine the exact location where the 31st parallel intersected the river. After erecting a stone at the beginning point for the line, the two commissioners proceeded to Pensacola to enjoy the hospitality of the governor there while the actual work party started chopping its way through the wilderness to mark the line as far east as the Chattahoochee River.

Although neither Ellicott nor Minor knew it at the time, the primitive equipment they used cased them to actually miss their mark. The point where they thought the 31st parallel intersected the Mobile River was actually 799 feet off from the true spot. Over the long distance separating the Mobile and Chattahoochee Rivers, this led to considerable error in marking the line. A study by Greg Spies of Troy University has revealed that the Ellicott Line varies from the true border for virtually its entire length.

Scotts Massacre of 1817 - Part Two

This is a view of the site of Scott's Massacre from Chattahoochee Landing in Gadsden County.

The battle took place on November 30, 1817, and resulted in the deaths of 34 U.S. soldiers, 6 women and four children. Native American casualties are not know.

The following excerpt is from my new book, The Early History of Gadsden County:

(Begin Excerpt) At the time of the Fowltown raids, a small convoy of supply boats was slowly making its way up the Apalachicola River from the Gulf of Mexico. Filled with soldiers and supplies for Fort Scott, the vessels were having great difficulty because water was running high and the current was strong. Major Peter Muhlenburg of the 4th U.S. Infantry commanded the little flotilla and sent a messenger up to Fort Scott with news of his difficulties. General Gaines immediately ordered a detachment of 40 soldiers to head downstream under Lieutenant Richard W. Scott. Their orders were to do what they could to expedite Muhlenburg’s arrival at the fort.

Scott and his men made contact with Muhlenburg somewhere below present-day Bristol. While Gaines’ intention appears to have been for the entire force to remain together, he was not clear about this in his instructions to the flotilla commander. Major Muhlenburg instead took 20 of Scott’s able-bodied men to replace 20 of his own men that had fallen sick with fever. The sick soldiers were then loaded into the lieutenant’s boat, along with 7 women (the wives of soldiers) and 4 children and Scott was ordered to take them upriver to Fort Scott.

Following his orders, the lieutenant started back upstream. By November 28, 1817, just five days after the second attack on Fowltown, he had reached the Spanish Bluff near present-day Blountstown. Here was located the original “Blunt’s Town,” a Native American village led by the chief John Blunt. Blunt had opposed the Red Sticks during the Creek War and had been driven by them from his home in Alabama. He relocated to the Apalachicola River and settled on land adjacent to a large plantation operated by the traders Edmund Doyle and William Hambly.

Hambly and Doyle warned Scott that he was in danger. A large force of Native Americans was assembling higher up the river, they cautioned, evidently with the intention of intercepting the supply boats as they came upstream.

The news alarmed the lieutenant and he immediately sent a courier overland to Fort Scott with a request for help:

…Mr. Hambly informs me that Indians are assembling at the junction of the river, where they intend to make a stand against those vessels coming up the river; should this be the case, I am not able to make a stand against them. My command does not exceed forty men, and one half sick, and without arms. I leave this immediately.

Despite the warning and his own recognition that his force was insufficient to withstand an attack, Scott then cast off from Spanish Bluff and continued his journey up the Apalachicola. Why he did this is difficult to understand. He may have underestimated the time it would take for his written message to reach General Gaines or he may have questioned the validity of the intelligence provided to him by Hambly and Doyle. Whatever his reason, the decision to continue up the Apalachicola River proved disastrous. (End of Excerpt)

I will continue to post more of this story over coming days. If you are interested in purchasing a copy of The Early History of Gadsden County, it is available for order online by clicking here. It is also available for pick up in Gadsden County through the West Gadsden Historical Society (www.gadsdenhistory.com for phone and address information) and is carried by Chipola River Book and Tea in downtown Marianna (across Lafayette Street from the Battle of Marianna monument).

The Confluence of the Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers

This early photograph, taken before construction began on the Jim Woodruff Dam during the late 1940s, shows the confluence or "forks" of the Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers as it appeared before the completion of Lake Seminole.

This was an important intersection on one of the most significant early "super highways" in the United States.

The Chattahoochee, Flint and Apalachicola Rivers provided water access to the modern states of Florida, Alabama and Georgia. Used by Native Americans as well as early Spanish and English explorers, the "Tri-Rivers System" was vital to the history of Gadsden County and tens of thousands of square miles of adjoining country.

This view shows four counties and two states. The left bank of the river is Jackson County, Florida. The point of land visible in the distance between the mouths of the Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers is Seminole County, Georgia. The right bank includes a small section of Decatur County, Georgia, and Gadsden County, Florida.

The earliest descriptions of the confluence appear in the records of Spanish missionaries and soldiers. Bishop Gabriel Diaz Vara Calderon visited this point in 1675. Although he did not mention the Flint, he described both the Apalachicola and Chattahoochee Rivers as a single stream - the "Apalachicoli." He officiated at the dedication of a mission called La Encarnacion a la Santa Cruz de Sabacola on the point of land formed by the Chattahoochee (flowing in from the left) and Flint (flowing in from the right).

The area was also described in Spanish reports and journals dating from 1677, 1686 and 1693. In 1716, Lieutenant Diego Pena traveled to the confluence from St. Augustine and visited a village of Apalachicoli (Lower Creek) Indians living on the former site of the Sabacola mission. He described the combined Apalachicola/Chattahoochee Rivers as the Apalachicola and the Flint as the "Pedernales."

If you are interested in learning more, please consider purchasing a copy of The Early History of Gadsden County. The book is available in both paperback and hardcover and profits benefit the West Gadsden Historical Society. For more information, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/gadsden.

Welcome to my new History of Gadsden County, Florida page!

Welcome and thank you for visiting my new page on the history of Gadsden County, Florida!

This beautiful county is located in the "Big Bend" region of Florida, just west of Tallahassee. Gadsden County is named for James Gadsden, a 19th century American soldier and diplomat, and was the fifth county established in Florida after the transfer of the territory from Spain to the United States. The county seat is Quincy.

The goal of this page is to share free information on the history, historic sites, folklore, culture and people of Gadsden County. I hope you will feel free to ask questions or make comments by using the "comment" feature available at the end of each post.

I will share articles and photographs throughout the week, so please check back in daily for the latest!

Best,

Dale Cox