Casa de Laga Plantation

Casa de Laga Plantation was a historic plantation in west-central Leon County, Florida, situated along the southwest shore of Lake Jackson. It was established by George Alexander Croom and was also known at different times as the Ball and McCabe Place and as Shidzuoka. Unlike a modern consumer or corporate brand, Casa de Laga was a named agricultural estate whose historical significance is tied to plantation agriculture, slavery, landholding, and the later transformation of rural property into developed residential space. The estate covered approximately 1,228 acres, or 497 hectares. Its principal cash crop was cotton, and its agricultural operations also included corn cultivation, livestock raising, wool production, and the slaughter of animals. The 1860 Leon County agricultural census recorded 800 improved acres and 428 unimproved acres. That census also recorded 70 enslaved people working on the plantation, making forced labor central to the estate's production system. The same record listed 3,000 bushels of corn and 200 bales of cotton, together with substantial holdings of cattle, sheep, and swine. The census assigned the plantation a cash value of $15,000, with farm implements and machinery valued at $500 and farm animals at $5,850; these figures describe the 1860 agricultural estate and are not modern brand or company financial measures. Croom was a member of a prominent Georgia and Florida family. He was the brother of Hardy Bryan Croom, associated with Goodwood Plantation and the discovery of the Florida torreya, and the father of Alonzo Church Croom, who later served as Florida's comptroller. George Alexander Croom died in 1890. In 1883, the plantation was sold to H. D. McColloch of Wisconsin. McColloch sold it six months later to Professor E. Warren Clark of Narragansett Pier, Rhode Island, and Austin M. Purvis of Philadelphia. Under Clark's association with the property, the former plantation was converted into a game preserve rather than continuing solely as a cotton-producing estate. In 1891, Charles T. Wilson of Cincinnati opened the Lake Jackson Hunting Lodge on the property, marking a later recreational phase in its history. Over time, the plantation landscape ceased to function as a single agricultural estate. The former grounds now correspond broadly to neighborhoods around Harriet Drive, Longview Drive, Faulk Drive, and Shady Oaks Drive, with some land extending across present-day North Monroe Street or U.S. Highway 27. Casa de Laga is therefore best understood as a historical plantation site and place-name, not as an active commercial brand. Its documented history illustrates the transition from antebellum forced-labor agriculture to post-Civil War private ownership, recreational land use, and eventual suburban development. The surviving historical record is centered on land use, ownership, agricultural production, and enslavement rather than on products marketed under the Casa de Laga name.

Casa de Laga Plantation was established by George Alexander Croom in west-central Leon County, Florida, on land adjoining the southwest shore of Lake Jackson. The estate comprised approximately 1,228 acres. Its alternative names included the Ball and McCabe Place and, later, Shidzuoka. The plantation formed part of the agricultural landscape of antebellum Leon County, where cotton production depended heavily on enslaved labor. The 1860 agricultural census provides the clearest quantitative record of the estate's operation. It identified 800 acres as improved land and 428 acres as unimproved land. The plantation's principal cash crop was cotton, with production of 200 bales recorded for that year. It also produced 3,000 bushels of corn and maintained a diversified livestock operation consisting of 96 cattle, 100 sheep, and 100 swine. The record further noted 200 pounds of wool and livestock slaughtered with a stated value of $3,000. Seventy enslaved people were recorded as working on the plantation. The census listed a plantation value of $15,000, farm implements and machinery valued at $500, and farm animals valued at $5,850. George Alexander Croom was born on October 7, 1821. He married Julia M. Church, daughter of Alonzo Church, who was the sixth president of the University of Georgia in Athens. Croom was also the brother of Hardy Bryan Croom, a planter and naturalist associated with Goodwood Plantation. George Alexander Croom died on July 5, 1890. His family connections place Casa de Laga within the wider network of wealthy planter families operating in the region during the nineteenth century. A change in ownership occurred in 1883, when H. D. McColloch of Wisconsin acquired the plantation. McColloch sold it six months later to Professor E. Warren Clark of Narragansett Pier, Rhode Island, and Austin M. Purvis of Philadelphia. The property subsequently moved away from its earlier identity as a cotton plantation. Clark converted it into a game preserve, reflecting a broader postwar shift in some former plantation properties toward hunting, leisure, and estate use. In 1891, Charles T. Wilson of Cincinnati opened the Lake Jackson Hunting Lodge on the property. This lodge represented another phase in the site's use, with the former agricultural estate functioning as a recreational destination. The historical record does not establish a continuous commercial enterprise operating under the Casa de Laga name after this period. The former plantation grounds have since been absorbed into the developed landscape of Leon County. They are associated with neighborhoods surrounding Harriet Drive, Longview Drive, Faulk Drive, and Shady Oaks Drive, with portions extending across present-day North Monroe Street or U.S. Highway 27. As a result, Casa de Laga no longer exists as an intact working plantation. Its importance today is principally historical and geographical, particularly in documenting slavery, cotton agriculture, land ownership, and the transformation of plantation land into recreational and residential uses.

• 1891

  Lake Jackson Hunting Lodge opened

  [1]Casa de Laga Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  Charles T. Wilson of Cincinnati opened a hunting lodge on the former plantation property after it had been converted into a game preserve.

• 1883

  Ownership transferred to H. D. McColloch

  [1]Casa de Laga Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  H. D. McColloch of Wisconsin purchased the plantation.

• 1883

  Resold to Clark and Purvis

  [1]Casa de Laga Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  Six months after acquiring the property, McColloch sold it to Professor E. Warren Clark and Austin M. Purvis.

• 1860

  Agricultural census documents the estate

  [1]Casa de Laga Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  The Leon County agricultural census recorded 1,228 acres, including 800 improved acres, 70 enslaved workers, 200 bales of cotton, 3,000 bushels of corn, and extensive livestock holdings.

• Plantation established

  [1]Casa de Laga Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  George Alexander Croom established Casa de Laga Plantation in west-central Leon County along the southwest shore of Lake Jackson.

Historical plantation estate and agricultural property; not an active consumer-facing brand.

• Agricultural commodity

  Cotton

  Cotton was Casa de Laga's principal cash crop. The 1860 agricultural census recorded production of 200 bales, reflecting the plantation's integration into the antebellum cotton economy and its reliance on enslaved labor.

• Agricultural crop

  Corn

  Corn was produced alongside cotton as part of the plantation's agricultural system. The 1860 census recorded 3,000 bushels, indicating that the estate maintained substantial food and feed production in addition to its cash-crop operations.

• Animal husbandry

  Livestock and wool

  The plantation maintained cattle, sheep, and swine. The 1860 record listed 96 cattle, 100 sheep, and 100 swine, along with 200 pounds of wool and a documented value for slaughtered livestock.

1. 1Casa de Laga Plantationen.wikipedia.org