Southwood Plantation

Southwood Plantation was a large historic cotton plantation located in southern Leon County, Florida, near Tallahassee. The property covered approximately 5,000 acres, or about 20 square kilometres, and was associated with George Taliafero Ward, a prominent landowner and public official in nineteenth-century Leon County. It was part of the agricultural plantation landscape that developed around Tallahassee and bordered the Francis Eppes Plantation to the north and the R. G. Shepard Plantation to the south. The land later known as Southwood came to George Taliafero Ward through inheritance from his father, George W. Ward. Ward was born in Kentucky in 1810 and moved to Tallahassee in 1825. That year he became Register of the Land Office, succeeding Samuel R. Overton. He subsequently participated in regional public life, serving on the Legislative Council from Leon County from 1838 to 1839 and attending Florida's constitutional convention. His ownership of Southwood formed part of a broader family property network in the Leon County area. Ward married Sarah Jane Chaires in 1844. She came from the wealthy Chaires family of eastern Leon County and later inherited additional properties that were incorporated into Southwood. The plantation's principal agricultural activity was cotton cultivation. The available reference material does not establish a complete chronology of the property's acquisition, expansion, labor system, or later land transfers, so those aspects should not be inferred beyond the documented ownership and agricultural use. A mansion was built at Southwood in 1865, but the original house was later destroyed by fire. In 1939, George Henderson, a grandson of Colonel John and Mattie Henderson, moved the Henderson family home from downtown Tallahassee to the foundation of the original Southwood house. This episode illustrates the property's continued importance as a family and local heritage site after its nineteenth-century plantation period. Southwood Plantation is best understood as a historical agricultural estate rather than a contemporary consumer brand or operating company. No current commercial products, public company structure, active management, official website, or present-day operating markets are documented in the supplied materials. Its historical significance is tied to Leon County's plantation economy, the Ward and Chaires family networks, and the surviving documentary record preserved through Florida and Florida State University archival resources.

Southwood Plantation developed as a substantial cotton-growing estate in southern Leon County, Florida. The plantation occupied roughly 5,000 acres and formed part of the agricultural landscape surrounding Tallahassee. Its boundaries placed it between two other named plantations: Francis Eppes Plantation lay to the north, while R. G. Shepard Plantation lay to the south. These neighboring properties reflect the concentration of large agricultural estates in the region during the nineteenth century. The property was associated with George Taliafero Ward, who inherited the land known as Southwood from his father, George W. Ward. George Taliafero Ward was born in Kentucky in 1810 and relocated to Tallahassee in 1825. In the same year he became Register of the Land Office, taking over the position from Samuel R. Overton. Ward later held political and civic roles in Florida. He represented Leon County on the Legislative Council from 1838 to 1839 and attended the constitutional convention. His public career and landholding placed him among the better-documented figures connected with antebellum Leon County. Family relationships also shaped the estate's history. Ward married Sarah Jane Chaires in 1844. She belonged to the Chaires family, described in the reference material as wealthy landowners in eastern Leon County. Sarah Jane later inherited other properties, and those holdings were incorporated into Southwood. The plantation therefore grew not only through the Ward inheritance but also through the consolidation of property associated with the Chaires family. Cotton was the plantation's documented principal crop. The supplied sources do not provide a full account of the workforce, production volumes, financial performance, or detailed annual operations. Accordingly, those elements remain undocumented here. The history of Southwood should nevertheless be considered within the broader context of Florida's plantation economy and its dependence on systems of coerced labor; the available material supplied for this entry does not specify the labor arrangements at Southwood itself. A mansion was constructed on the property in 1865. The original Southwood house was eventually destroyed by fire, leaving its foundation as a surviving reference point. In 1939, George Henderson, identified as a grandson of Colonel John and Mattie Henderson, moved the Henderson family residence from downtown Tallahassee to the old foundation of the original Southwood house. This relocation connected the site's plantation-era fabric with a later phase of family occupation and preservation. The available record is primarily historical and archival rather than commercial. It does not establish a current owner, an operating plantation business, a surviving company, or a present-day product brand. Relevant documentation is associated with the Robert Manning Strozier Library's Special Collections at Florida State University, Florida voter records, the Florida Memory Project, and historical and scholarly works on Leon County and Florida's transition from cotton agriculture to later land uses.

• 1939

  Henderson family home moved to the historic foundation

  [1]Southwood Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  George Henderson moved the family home from downtown Tallahassee to the foundation of the original Southwood house.

• 1865

  Southwood mansion constructed

  [1]Southwood Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  A mansion was built at Southwood; the original structure was later destroyed by fire.

• 1844

  Ward married Sarah Jane Chaires

  [1]Southwood Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  Ward married Sarah Jane Chaires, linking the estate's ownership history with the Chaires family property network.

• 1838

  Ward entered the Legislative Council

  [1]Southwood Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  Ward served on the Legislative Council from Leon County from 1838 to 1839.

• 1825

  Ward moved to Tallahassee and became Register of the Land Office

  [1]Southwood Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  Ward moved from Kentucky to Tallahassee and became Register of the Land Office, succeeding Samuel R. Overton.

• 1810

  Birth of George Taliafero Ward

  [1]Southwood Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  George Taliafero Ward, the documented owner of Southwood Plantation, was born in Kentucky.

• Agricultural commodity

  Cotton

  Cotton was the principal documented crop associated with Southwood Plantation. The estate covered approximately 5,000 acres in southern Leon County and operated within the nineteenth-century agricultural economy of the Tallahassee region. The supplied sources do not provide production totals, grades, sales destinations, or a detailed chronology of cultivation.

1. 1Southwood Plantationen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Robert Manning Strozier Library Special Collectionslib.fsu.edu
3. 3Florida Memory Projectfloridamemory.com