ssTWtfvaS^’s "7* 
pointed United States judge for East 
■rrftorlal act to provide for es- 
tablishing a seat of government in the 
territory of Florida, adopted by the 
second legislative council held at St, 
Augustine and approved June 24, 1823 
provided that the governor shall ap- 
point two commissioners, one from the 
*2*2! as East Florida and 
, that k nown as West Florida, 
Slf n 6et at St - M arks on the 
Gulf of Mexico, on the first day of Oc- 
iv b fn and thencc proceed careful ■ 
ly to explore and examine all that sec- 
tion of country embraced between tils 
Ocklockny river on the west and the 
Suwannee river on the east, and be- 
tween the northern boundary line of 
said territory and the Gulf of Mexi- 
co, and to select the most eligible and 
convenient situation for the seat of 
government. The commissioners were 
required to report their action to the 
governor, and if they did not agree, the 
governor was authorized "to decide in 
favor of the sltuatton selected by either 
commissioner.” "The situation thus 
selected shall thenceforth constitute 
the seat of government for the terri- 
tory of Florida.” 
The governor appointed Dr. W. H 
Srm? 10 * 13 °J st ’ Augustine and J. L.’ 
Williams of Pensacola. The site select- 
ed In November, 1923, for the seat of 
government was then In Gadsden coun- 
ty and Is described as being the "coun- 
ty of Gadsden, situated about a mile 
southwest from the deserted fields of 
Tallahassee, about a mile south of the 
Oke-lock-o-ny and Tallahassee trails, 
at a point where the old Spanish road 
is Intersected by a small trail running 
south westward ly . ’ ' it seems that the 
name Tallahassee 1 was applied to a 
section in which were several villages 
extending between the present limits 
of the city of Tallahassee and Lake 
Lafayette then called Tallahassee Pond. 
Neamathla was chief of the new Talla- 
hassee town, just east of the pres- 
ent city. Chefixico was chief of the 
old Tallahassee tpwn located on the 
south side of La,ke Lafayette of then 
Tallahassee Pond. 
An act of congress approved Mav 24, 
1824. granted to the Territory of Flor- 
ida "one entire quarter section of land 
for the seat of government in that 
territory, to be located" previously to 
the sale of the adjacent lands, under 
the authority of the governor thereof, 
at the point selected for the perman- 
ent seat of government for said terri- 
tory.” Governor Duval had on March 4, 
1824, by proclamation stated that the 
place which had been selected for the 
seat of government was "situated about 
a mile southwest from the deserted 
fields of Tallahassee, about a mile 
south of the Okelockony and Talla- 
hassee trails, at a point where the 
Old Spanish road Is intersected by a 
small trail running southwestward’ly.” 
There appears to be no official rec- 
ord showing It, but the circumstances 
all indicate that under the act of 
congress Governor Duval, selected to 
be surveyor as the quarter section of 
land for seat of government purposes 
the area lying Immediately north and 
west of the Intersection of the Old 
Spanish road and the trail running 
southwestwardlv, which. Intersection Is 
the only definite description given rel- 
ative to the nlace selected for the seat 
of government. 
Why Selected. 
The location selected for the terri- 
torial seat of government was chosen 
because (1) It Is about midway be- 
tween the eastern and western extremi- 
ties of the then Territory of Florida, 
St. Augustine being on the Atlantic 
coast and Pensacola being on the Gulf 
coast near the Perdido river: (21 at 
that time the port of St. Marks being 
at the junction of the Wakulla and St 
Marks rivers near Aoalachee bav on the 
Gulf coast, about twenty mfies south 
of the location selected for the seat of 
government, was an export trading 
point for the country between the 
Apalachicola and Suwannee rivers as 
well as for Georgia, to the north: (31 
the location Is a succession of red clav 
hills with many clear, cure streams, 
lakes and waterfalls, the fertile soli 
sustaining in luxurious growth a vari- 
ety of large hard wood and other val- 
uable and useful trees with abundant 
grasses and flora: ()4j at that time the 
Immense area of tJhe peninsular por- 
tion of the territory was little known 
and contained comparatively few white 
settlements. 
1 The territorial statute, approved De- 
cember 11, 1824, fnacted that the 
place selected for jhe seat of govern- 
ment shall “be knotwn by the name of 
Tallahassee.” 
■ To the ancient Indian Inhabitants 
I wh.n preceded the Sem'no’-s the name 
I "TeUch-SSC-’ had -r -Afl — ne- that 
1 probably could not be fully appreciated 
1 HMW iBB Uij l Wl i WU l lli l .. . 
monument in the southeastern part 
of the city of Tallahassee. 
A Spanish town called San Luis lo- 
cated two miles west of the city of 
Tallahassee, where the place known 
as Fort San Luis now is, was destroy- 
ed with other Spanish towns by In- 
vaders from South Carolina in the 
early part of the Eighteenth century 
and the Indians then inhabiting the 
country were scattered. This was more 
Jhan a hundred years before MaJ. Gen. 
Andrew Jackson commanding a mil- 
itary force was sent, by the United 
States government into the Florida 
territory to punish the Indians r or 
their depredations along the Alabtma 
and Georgia borders, and to imp^ss 
upon the Spanish authorities an 
peratlve demand that the treaty re! 
tlons between the United States I a: 
Spain relative to the protection 
American personal and property righ 
on the border be observed and enjon 
ed. It was during this expedition th 
Andrew Jackson subdued the India: 
in this section of Florida and to: 
possession of St. Marks and Pensacola, 
which forts were subsequently restored 
to Spain and later covered by the 
treaty of- cession by which both East 
and West Florida became the property 
of the United States. It is quite prob- 
able that Andrew Jackson with his 
troops passed over the land now cov- 
ered by the city of Tallahassee, be- 
cause he drove the Indians from tj\e 
locality Just east of the present city 
of Tallahassee where the deserted fields 
of the Tallahassee towns were found 
in locating the seat of government, and 
the old fields are referred to In de- 
scribing the point selected. 
The Fowl Towns consisted of a num- 
ber of small villages extending into 
the interior north of St. Marks. It 
seems that In 1824, there was an In- 
dian town called Tallahassee on the 
south side of Lake Lafayette then 
called Tallahassee pond; Chefixico was 
its chief. A new Tallahassee village 
of which Neamathla was chief, was 
perhaps in the neighborhood of the 
Ross place, three miles east of Talla- 
hassee. 
Old Tallahassee Fields. 
The old Tallahassee field that were 
deserted upon Jackson's Invasion In 
1818 were probably west of Neamathla’s 
village and a mile or more east of the 
city of Tallahassee's original limits. It 
was after a visit to Neamathla in his 
village that the commissioners W. H. 
Simmons and J. L. Williams seicted 
the location for the seat of the te; ' 
torial government that was appri 
by Governor Duval and was by sta 1 
called Tallahassee comprising origi: 
ly the S.E. 1-4 of Section 36 Tow: 
1, North Range 1 West. 
On July 4, 1825, the United Sti 
Issued a patent conveying the 
of Township 1, North Range 1 EaS 
General Lafayette. One quarter section 
of the township, viz: the S.W. 1-4 Sgja 
31, had already been selected for seavj 
of government purposes, but it was re” 
linquished by the governor of the ter- 
ritory, and other lands in lieu thereol 
were granted to the territory. 
Governor Duval's home was estabr 
fished in section 6, T. 1 S. R. 1 East 
in 1924. A portion of that section 1® 
now within the Tallahassee city limits. 
The "Water Falls” referred to in tbf 
grants of lands for the territorial seat 
of government were located Just south 
of the Seaboard railroad track not fat 
from the electric fight plant of Talla- 
hassee. Col. Robert. Butler had a mill 
at the “Water Falls." Later the )oc«* 
