Francis Eppes Plantation

Francis Eppes Plantation was a nineteenth-century cotton plantation in east-central Leon County, Florida. It was established in 1829 by Francis W. Eppes VII, who moved to the Tallahassee area from Virginia with his wife, Mary, and enslaved people. The property covered approximately 1,920 acres and occupied land on both the northern and southern shores of Lake Lafayette. Its neighboring plantations included Evergreen Hills Plantation to the east, La Grange Plantation to the north, and the northeastern tip of Southwood Plantation to the south. The plantation formed part of the agricultural and slaveholding economy that developed in Middle Florida during the territorial period and the decades before the American Civil War. The 1860 Leon County agricultural census recorded 950 acres of improved land and 970 acres of unimproved land. The same census listed a plantation cash value of $24,000, farm implements and machinery valued at $500, and farm animals valued at $3,000. It also recorded 70 enslaved people associated with the plantation. These figures describe the plantation's agricultural assets and enslaved labor force at a particular historical moment and should not be interpreted as evidence of a modern commercial brand. Eppes was a politically prominent figure in early Tallahassee. He served as the community's intendant, or mayor, while Florida was under United States territorial administration. He is also associated with an effort to establish a state-supported seminary in Tallahassee; that institution ultimately developed into Florida State University. Eppes was a grandson of Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson and Thomas Jefferson. Historical accounts also connect members of the plantation's enslaved community to descendants of Betsy Hemmings, who had been a nurse and an important figure in the enslaved community at Eppes's childhood home of Millbrook. During the Civil War, Eppes sold the plantation and received Confederate currency. The remaining value of his investment and the plantation's enslaved labor system disappeared by 1865, when enslaved people were emancipated. Eppes subsequently left Tallahassee and began citrus farming in Orange County, Florida. The former plantation land has since been absorbed into the built environment of the Tallahassee area. Locations identified with the property include neighborhoods and roads around Buck Lake, western Buck Lake Road, southern Pedrick Road, Planters Ridge Drive, Heritage Park Boulevard, and Doyle Conner Boulevard. Francis Eppes Plantation is therefore best understood as a historical plantation property and site, rather than as an operating consumer brand or commercial enterprise.

Francis Eppes Plantation was established in 1829 in east-central Leon County, Florida, by Francis W. Eppes VII. Eppes arrived in the Tallahassee region with his wife, Mary, and enslaved people who had accompanied him from Virginia. The property extended across approximately 1,920 acres and occupied both shores of Lake Lafayette. It was situated within a dense plantation landscape, bordering Evergreen Hills Plantation, La Grange Plantation, and Southwood Plantation. The plantation operated within the antebellum cotton economy of Middle Florida. Its land was divided between improved acreage used for cultivation and other productive purposes and unimproved acreage. The 1860 agricultural census for Leon County recorded 950 improved acres and 970 unimproved acres. It valued the plantation at $24,000, farm implements and machinery at $500, and farm animals at $3,000. The census also recorded 70 enslaved people. These records document the material scale of the property while also reflecting the coercive labor system on which its agricultural production depended. Francis W. Eppes was a politically significant resident of early Tallahassee. He served as intendant, a title equivalent to mayor, during the period of United States territorial administration. Eppes also promoted the creation of a state-supported seminary in Tallahassee. That educational initiative eventually contributed to the development of Florida State University. His family background linked him to Thomas Jefferson through his mother or maternal ancestry, and historical accounts identify connections between the plantation's enslaved population and descendants of Betsy Hemmings, a nurse and matriarch associated with Eppes's childhood home of Millbrook. The plantation's history changed during the Civil War. Eppes sold the property and accepted Confederate money as payment. By 1865, the value of the remaining investment and the plantation's enslaved labor force had been lost, following the emancipation of enslaved people. Eppes then left the Tallahassee area and pursued citrus cultivation in Orange County, Florida. The plantation no longer operates as an agricultural estate. Its former acreage has been incorporated into modern Tallahassee development, particularly the area surrounding Buck Lake. Descriptions of the former property associate it with western Buck Lake Road, southern Pedrick Road, Planters Ridge Drive, Heritage Park Boulevard, and Doyle Conner Boulevard. The site is significant primarily for local, agricultural, political, and slavery history. Because the subject is a historical plantation rather than a conventional brand, standard brand fields such as product portfolio, campaigns, executives, and market activity are generally not applicable.

• 1865

  Enslaved people were emancipated

  [1]Francis Eppes Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  The plantation's enslaved labor system ended with emancipation, and Eppes lost the remaining value of his investment and enslaved property.

• 1861

  Plantation sold during the Civil War

  [1]Francis Eppes Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  Eppes sold the plantation during the Civil War and received Confederate currency for the transaction.

• 1860

  Agricultural census recorded the plantation

  [1]Francis Eppes Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  The Leon County agricultural census recorded 1,920 total acres, including 950 improved acres and 970 unimproved acres, along with agricultural assets and 70 enslaved people.

• 1829

  Plantation established

  [1]Francis Eppes Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  Francis W. Eppes VII established the plantation in Leon County after moving to the Tallahassee area from Virginia with his wife and enslaved people.

Historical cotton plantation and agricultural property in nineteenth-century Leon County, Florida; not an operating commercial brand.

• Agricultural commodity

  Cotton

  Cotton was the plantation's principal documented agricultural association. Production took place within the antebellum plantation economy of Middle Florida and depended on enslaved labor. The available reference material does not identify particular cotton varieties, processing facilities, sales channels, or annual output.

1. 1Francis Eppes Plantationen.wikipedia.org