Foshalee Plantation

Foshalee Plantation is a historic rural estate in northern Leon County, Florida, associated particularly with quail hunting, agricultural use, and the seasonal plantation culture of the Red Hills region around Tallahassee and Thomasville. The property was originally known as Incochee and entered documented private ownership in 1824, when Hezekiah and Ann Graham Ponder purchased it. Their burial site remains in a cemetery near U.S. 319. During the antebellum period, the land was held by John Miller and comprised approximately 515 acres. The estate became substantially larger and more prominent during the early twentieth century. Sydney E. Hutchinson of Philadelphia acquired the land between 1910 and 1914 and applied the name Foshalee Plantation. His purchases expanded the holding across land east of Lake Iamonia and around Foshalee Slough, eventually bringing the property to approximately 14,000 acres. Foshalee formed part of a broader pattern in which wealthy Northern families acquired large properties in northern Florida and southern Georgia for hunting, farming, recreation, and seasonal residence. In the late 1910s or early 1920s, Hutchinson sold Foshalee to Harry Payne Whitney, a wealthy yachtsman and prominent horse breeder. After Whitney's death in 1930, his wife, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, continued operating the property until 1938. She then sold an 11,456-acre version of Foshalee to F. Ambrose Clark for $190,000. Clark retained the plantation until 1949, when a horse-riding accident involving a nest of yellow jackets preceded the end of her ownership. After Clark's tenure, Foshalee became jointly associated with Robert Livingston Ireland Jr. and David S. Ingalls. Their families also shared ownership interests in Ring Oak Plantation and Chemonie Plantation, linking Foshalee to a wider network of elite plantation properties in the region. By 1966, the estate reported five tractors and approximately 700 acres under cultivation, including corn and peanuts, with additional land devoted to dove habitat. Its principal recreational identity, however, remained connected with quail hunting and the management of a large private preserve. Foshalee is best understood as a named historic estate rather than a conventional consumer brand. It has no documented mass-market product portfolio, public-company structure, or clearly identified current corporate owner in the supplied reference material. Its historical significance rests on the succession of owners, the expansion and agricultural management of the land, its place within northern Florida's plantation landscape, and its continuing association with private game-preserve traditions. A 1989 book, Foshalee Quail Country Plantation by William Warren Rogers, provides a dedicated account within the broader history of Leon County and the Thomasville area.

Foshalee Plantation developed from a property first known as Incochee in northern Leon County, Florida. Hezekiah and Ann Graham Ponder acquired the land in 1824, and both were later buried in a cemetery near present-day U.S. 319. During the antebellum period, the property was owned by John Miller and measured about 515 acres. This early history places Foshalee within the plantation economy and rural settlement pattern of the Florida Red Hills, although the supplied material does not establish a continuous commercial operation under the Foshalee name during the nineteenth century. The estate's major expansion began after Sydney E. Hutchinson, a Philadelphia resident, acquired it between 1910 and 1914. Hutchinson renamed the property Foshalee Plantation and assembled a much larger tract extending east of Lake Iamonia and around Foshalee Slough. At its greatest reported extent, the plantation covered approximately 14,000 acres. Its development reflected the growing interest of affluent Northern families in the region's hunting estates, seasonal residences, and agricultural properties. Hutchinson later sold Foshalee to Harry Payne Whitney, a prominent yachtsman and horse breeder, probably during the late 1910s or early 1920s. Whitney's ownership connected the estate with the sporting and equestrian interests of one of the period's wealthiest American families. Following Whitney's death on October 26, 1930, his wife, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, maintained the plantation until 1938. That year she sold 11,456 acres to F. Ambrose Clark of Westbury, Long Island, for $190,000. Clark's ownership lasted until 1949. The historical account associates its conclusion with an accident in which she was thrown by a horse that had stumbled into a nest of yellow jackets. Foshalee subsequently came under joint ownership connected with Robert Livingston Ireland Jr. and David S. Ingalls. Ireland was an executive of the M. A. Hanna Company, while Ingalls was associated with Pan Am World Airways and the Cincinnati Times-Star. Their families shared Foshalee as well as interests in Ring Oak Plantation and Chemonie Plantation. By 1966, Foshalee's land use included both agriculture and wildlife management. The property reported five tractors and 700 acres under cultivation: approximately 500 acres of corn, 60 acres of peanuts, and 80 acres allocated to dove use. The plantation was also known for quail hunting, making it part of the network of private hunting preserves that characterized the region. Contemporary neighboring-plantation listings identify properties including Tall Timbers, Sunny Hill, Horseshoe, Loveridge, and others, depending on the year. The available material does not identify a present owner, current operating company, public access policy, or continuing business structure. Accordingly, Foshalee is documented here as a historic named estate and sporting property rather than as a conventional product brand. Its history is preserved in regional plantation scholarship and in William Warren Rogers's 1989 book Foshalee Quail Country Plantation, which places the estate within the connected histories of Leon County, Florida, and Thomas County, Georgia.

• 1989

  Dedicated regional history published

  [1]Foshalee Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  William Warren Rogers published Foshalee Quail Country Plantation, a book focused on the estate and its surrounding regional history.

• 1966

  Agricultural and wildlife management documented

  [1]Foshalee Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  Foshalee reported five tractors, 700 cultivated acres, corn and peanut production, and land used for dove habitat.

• 1949

  Joint ownership follows Clark tenure

  [1]Foshalee Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  The property became jointly associated with Robert Livingston Ireland Jr. and David S. Ingalls.

• 1938

  Sale to F. Ambrose Clark

  [1]Foshalee Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  An 11,456-acre Foshalee was sold to F. Ambrose Clark for $190,000.

• 1930

  Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney continues operations

  [1]Foshalee Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  After Harry Payne Whitney's death, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney retained and operated Foshalee.

• 1920

  Whitney ownership period

  [1]Foshalee Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  The plantation passed to Harry Payne Whitney during the late 1910s or early 1920s.

• 1910

  Hutchinson begins acquiring the estate

  [1]Foshalee Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  Sydney E. Hutchinson acquired the property during the period from 1910 to 1914 and established the Foshalee name.

• 1824

  Ponder ownership begins

  [1]Foshalee Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  Hezekiah and Ann Graham Ponder purchased the property then known as Incochee.

A historic private plantation estate identified with quail hunting, agricultural land management, and the elite rural sporting culture of northern Florida.

• Sporting estate experience

  Quail hunting preserve

  Foshalee's principal historical identity was as a large private quail-hunting plantation. The property formed part of the northern Florida and southern Georgia sporting-estate landscape, where extensive managed land supported upland game hunting and seasonal recreation. The available sources do not establish current public availability or commercial booking arrangements.

• Agriculture

  Agricultural estate

  The plantation also supported agricultural production. In 1966, reported cultivation included approximately 500 acres of corn and 60 acres of peanuts, with additional acreage associated with dove use. These figures document a historical land-use configuration rather than a current product line.

• 1938

  Sale of the plantation to F. Ambrose ClarkM&A

  Background

  Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney retained Foshalee after her husband's death but sold the property in 1938.

  Action taken

  She transferred 11,456 acres to F. Ambrose Clark for $190,000.

  Aftermath

  Clark held the estate until 1949, after which ownership became associated with Robert Livingston Ireland Jr. and David S. Ingalls.

  Sale price. $190,000 (1938)

  Source

• 1914

  Expansion and renaming under HutchinsonStrategy

  Background

  Sydney E. Hutchinson acquired the former Incochee property and surrounding tracts during the early 1910s.

  Action taken

  He used the Foshalee Plantation name and expanded the estate to a reported maximum of about 14,000 acres.

  Aftermath

  The enlarged property became a major private plantation and hunting estate in northern Leon County.

  Source

1. 1Foshalee Plantationen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Foshalee Quail Country Plantationworldcat.org