Town of the Week

Tallahassee, Florida
August 14, 1999

The only confirmed camp in North America of the explorer Hernando de Soto is located less than a mile from the state capitol of Florida. He came in 1539, nearly 300 years before Florida became a territory.

In 1824, a party of 7 explorers agreed on the site of an old Indian village, Tallahassee, as the location for the state's permanent capitol. Back then, Tallahassee was raw frontier, with mosquitos the size of clenched fists, and heat and humidity to match. Ralph Waldo Emerson described his visit there as "a grotesque place, rapidly settled by public officers, land speculators and desperados."

Today's Tallahassee is a fast-growing modern city where government jobs are held by 40 per cent of the workforce. The new capitol, a 22 story tower, flanked by domes, sits only a few hundred feet from the old capitol building, now a part of the Museum of Florida History. Two distinguished universities are located in town, Florida State and Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, as is the Tallahassee Community College. The National High Magnetic Field Laboratory is also located in the capital city. Cultural activities include the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra; Ballet; Black Archives Research Center and Museum; Civic Center; and the city's 4 week celebration of Springtime Tallahassee.

A Leon County community of some 250 thousand people, it's a town of Southern accents, charm and hospitality; and it's our Town of the Week, Tallahassee, Florida.

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