Groups visiting the northern part of the Sunshine State can find intriguing history in Tallahassee’s collection of attractions.
“Tallahassee’s unique charm and style is derived from the undeniably pretty and often unexpected features found in Florida’s capital,” says Visit Tallahassee’s Katie Gardocki.
The city was once at the forefront of the civil rights movement, and the downtown Tallahassee-Leon County Civil Rights Sidewalk is a special landmark memorializing important figures involved in history-altering events.
“Five months after Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, two Florida A&M University students took action, leading to a seven-month standoff and bus boycott. There were several sit-ins in the early 1960s at a Woolworth lunch counter, which led to arrests and the first jail-in of the civil rights movement, when eight students opted for jail time rather than pay their fines,” Gardocki says.
The Knott House Museum stores a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation, which was first read to Floridians on May 20, 1865, and a re-enactment of the reading is part of an annual celebration on that day each year.
Inside the Carnegie Library on Florida A&M University’s historical campus is the Meek-Eaton Black Archives Research Center & Museum. It is only one of 10 such museums in the country, and it acts to preserve and display information about Africans and African Americans and their contributions that shaped the U.S.
On the National Registry of Historic Places, The Grove Museum is one of the best-preserved Greek Revival residences in the state. Visitors can see the 10.5-acre grounds and hear the stories of the beautiful Call-Collins House. Guided tours focus on slavery and civil rights and their relevance to the multi-generational home.
Cascades Park, also on the National Register of Historic Places, is a 24-acre redeveloped green space featuring miles of diverse, multi-use trails and an amphitheater. The Smokey Hollow Commemoration, Korean War Memorial, TLH Art Structure, and Florida Prime Meridian marker can also be found there.
For more information, email Gardocki or go to visittallahassee.com.
Top photo: Grove Museum
Photo by Visit Tallahassee
Support for Courier articles provided by:
Graceland & Guest House at Graceland
Huntsville, Alabama Convention & Visitors Bureau
Savannah Riverboat Cruises
U.S. Space & Rocket Center
