Tallahassee: A Capital City History

Since its exploration in the early sixteenth century, the geography of today’s Sunshine State has been hotly contested, both through diplomacy and violence, by various forces of Spanish, French, British, and Native American influence. As late as the nineteenth century, Florida’s people and soil remained controversial-its land emerging as vital, accessible territory for expansion for the nascent American population. Through a combination of political maneuvering and coercive action, the American government secured much of Florida and soon established the new town of Tallahassee as the capital seat, situated in the Red Hills region between the two most populous settlements: St. Augustine and Pensacola.Tallahassee: A Capital City History chronicles the story of the city’s growth from a frontier community into a modern Southern metropolis, renowned for its beauty, football, and political dramas. First, readers will journey with Panfilo de Narvaez, Hernando de Soto, and other waves of Spanish adventurers searching for the promise of gold and silver as they explored the lush wilderness that was Tallahassee. From there, readers discover a landscape ever changing as the centuries brought new settlers with pioneer visions of growth and wealth. Touching upon the major eras of this city’s history, antebellum, Civil War, Reconstruction, the Depression, and Civil Rights, this comprehensive volume details the full identity of Tallahassee, celebrating its major figures and remembering the contributions of many of its everyday people, who truly shaped the course of Tallahassee’s evolution.