The Grove Plantation

The Grove, officially known as the Call/Collins House at The Grove, is a historic house and museum in Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida. Although commonly described as a plantation house, its history is more closely associated with territorial and state politics, family inheritance, social life, and preservation than with the operation of a large agricultural estate. The property occupies approximately 10 acres that formed part of a much larger 640-acre tract acquired by Richard Keith Call in 1825. Call was a lawyer, land speculator, railroad investor, military officer, and territorial political leader who served twice as Florida's territorial governor. The house is generally dated to about 1840, with construction substantially complete by the end of 1839. The building was erected during the Second Seminole War, when security and self-sufficiency influenced residential design. Its substantial brick walls, brick columns, and water cisterns gave it a fortified appearance. Enslaved African-descended craftsmen built the house, likely including workers hired from other enslavers. Imported materials such as wood flooring, marble fireplaces, and sandstone window sills probably reached Tallahassee through the developing railroad connections to St. Marks and Port Leon. The property itself was not evidently a major working plantation; Call's principal activities included politics, law, land development, railroad interests, and investment. Nevertheless, slavery was part of the property's construction and the wider economic world of its owners, and that history is central to understanding the site. Call transferred The Grove to his daughter Ellen Call Long in 1851. During her ownership, the house became an important gathering place for Tallahassee's political and social elite. Ellen was a Unionist despite her husband's secessionist views, but she supported the Confederacy during the Civil War, hosted Confederate officers and wounded soldiers, and participated in wartime relief work. After the war, she pursued silk cultivation as an economic and agricultural experiment. She raised silkworms, cultivated mulberry trees, promoted Florida's silk industry, and became associated with early advocacy of controlled burning and forest management. Financial difficulties eventually forced her to sell surrounding land, creating the Long Grove Addition, and foreclosure-related transactions led to the property's transfer through the Hunt family in the early twentieth century. LeRoy Collins and Mary Call Darby Collins acquired The Grove in 1941. Mary was a great-granddaughter of Richard Keith Call, and the couple undertook extensive restoration and modernization of a house that had fallen into disrepair. LeRoy Collins later became governor of Florida. While the official Governor's Mansion was being reconstructed between 1955 and 1957, The Grove served as the state's unofficial executive residence. The Collins family subsequently helped restore the property's historic character and assembled period furnishings, with assistance from preservation specialist James Cogar. Florida acquired The Grove in 1985 to establish a state historic house museum. The Collins family retained life leases and continued living there until their deaths. After Mary Call Collins died in 2009, the property formally reverted to the state. The site includes the historic residence, grounds, associated outbuildings and cottages, and an active family cemetery containing members of the Call and Collins families. It now functions as a museum and heritage attraction presenting the property's architecture, political associations, family history, material culture, and connections to slavery, the Civil War, Florida statehood, and twentieth-century preservation.

Richard Keith Call purchased the broader land tract containing The Grove in 1825, after arriving in Tallahassee following service as Florida's territorial delegate to Congress. An early residence stood on the property, but the present brick house was commissioned during Call's period as a leading territorial figure. Contemporary evidence indicates that construction was under way by 1838 and completed around 1839 or 1840. The work was performed by enslaved craftsmen of African descent, and the building's thick brick construction, columns, and cisterns reflected both status and the security concerns of the Second Seminole War. The property also benefited from Tallahassee's emerging railroad links with regional ports. Call's financial affairs became unstable after the collapse of the Port Leon investment scheme, the Tallahassee fire of 1843, and the failure of the Union Bank. The Grove was used as collateral in settlements with creditors, but Call retained it. After retiring from active politics, he spent more time at Orchard Pond Plantation. In 1851, he deeded The Grove to his daughter Ellen Call Long. Call remained connected to the property and died there in 1862. Ellen Call Long maintained The Grove as a prominent social and political residence. Her family circumstances were complicated by the opposing political views of Ellen and her husband, Medicus A. Long. During the Civil War she aided Confederate personnel and hosted military and social activities, even though she had opposed secession. After the war, she sought new sources of income through silk production. The property became a center for silkworm cultivation, and Long promoted the development of Florida's silk industry through writing and participation in women's agricultural organizations. A silk flag associated with The Grove was presented at the 1885 inauguration of Governor Edward A. Perry. Long's finances deteriorated as she supported relatives and faced declining income. She sold portions of the surrounding estate, and the resulting development became known as the Long Grove Addition. In 1903, foreclosure proceedings and disputed property transactions resulted in The Grove and Orchard Pond passing to Charles E. Hunt and then to his wife, Reinette Long Hunt, Long's granddaughter. Hunt operated The Grove Hotel and developed cottages for rental use. Following a short period involving John W. Ford and Josephine Agler, LeRoy Collins and Mary Call Darby Collins purchased the property in 1941. The Collinses restored the deteriorated house and made selected changes, including a rear sunroom known as the Florida Room, brick patios, additional closets, and basement improvements. LeRoy Collins served in the Florida Legislature, entered the Navy during the Second World War, and later returned to law and politics. After becoming governor in 1955, he and his family used The Grove as the unofficial executive residence while the new Governor's Mansion was being built. The Collins family later worked with preservation specialist James Cogar to furnish the house with appropriate period objects and to prepare it for public interpretation. In 1985, the State of Florida acquired The Grove for use as a state historic house museum. The Collinses received life leases, allowing them to remain in the house. The property returned formally to state control after Mary Call Collins's death in 2009. Today, the museum interprets the architecture and occupants of the house, the political history of Florida, the labor of enslaved builders, the Civil War period, the property's hotel and rental era, and the preservation work undertaken by the Collins family. The grounds also contain a family cemetery that predates the current residence and remains associated with several generations of the Call and Collins families.

• 2009

  The property formally reverts to the state

  [1]The Grove Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  Following Mary Call Collins's death, the life-lease arrangement ended and the property formally returned to state control.

• 1985

  The State of Florida acquires the property

  [1]The Grove Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  Florida purchased The Grove to establish a state historic house museum; the Collinses retained life leases.

• 1957

  The new Governor's Mansion opens

  [1]The Grove Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  Completion of the new mansion ended The Grove's role as the governor's unofficial residence.

• 1955

  The Grove serves as Florida's unofficial Governor's Mansion

  [1]The Grove Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  After LeRoy Collins became governor, the family used The Grove as the executive residence while the new Governor's Mansion was under construction.

• 1941

  LeRoy and Mary Collins acquire The Grove

  [1]The Grove Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  The Collins family purchased the deteriorated property and began a major restoration campaign.

• 1903

  Ownership shifts to the Hunt family

  [1]The Grove Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  Financial and foreclosure-related proceedings led to disputed transfers involving Charles E. Hunt and Reinette Long Hunt.

• 1885

  Silk from The Grove features in a gubernatorial inauguration

  [1]The Grove Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  A large American flag made from silk associated with Long's cultivation efforts at The Grove was presented at Edward A. Perry's inauguration.

• 1865

  Postwar May Day gathering at The Grove

  [1]The Grove Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  Ellen Call Long hosted a May Day event on the grounds shortly after news of General Robert E. Lee's surrender reached Tallahassee.

• 1851

  The property passes to Ellen Call Long

  [1]The Grove Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  Call deeded The Grove to his daughter Ellen, together with seven enslaved people.

• 1838

  Construction of the brick residence is documented

  [1]The Grove Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  A contemporary account described Call as building a substantial brick house near Tallahassee; the residence was completed by approximately 1839 or 1840.

• 1825

  Richard Keith Call acquires the original tract

  [1]The Grove Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  Call purchased approximately 640 acres in the Tallahassee area, including the land on which The Grove would later stand.

A Florida heritage destination centered on an antebellum house, the Call and Collins families, territorial and state political history, architecture, and the interpretation of slavery and nineteenth- and twentieth-century life in Tallahassee.

• Historic house museum

  The Grove historic house

  The principal offering is the preserved antebellum brick residence built for Richard Keith Call around 1840. Its architecture reflects the period's security concerns and includes thick masonry walls, brick columns, historic interior features, imported fireplaces and flooring, and later alterations made by the Collins family. Interpretation connects the building to territorial Florida, enslaved construction labor, the Civil War era, state politics, and twentieth-century preservation.

• Heritage site

  Historic grounds and family cemetery

  The museum grounds include the landscape surrounding the residence, historic service and rental-related structures, restored water infrastructure, and a family cemetery that predates the present house. The cemetery contains members of several generations of the Call and Collins families and remains an important part of the site's historical interpretation.

• Cultural attraction

  Museum tours and educational interpretation

  The Grove presents the site through museum interpretation rather than commercial product lines. Its visitor experience focuses on the Call, Long, Hunt, and Collins families; Florida's territorial and gubernatorial history; the labor of enslaved craftspeople; the Civil War and postwar years; silk cultivation; the property's hotel period; and its conversion into a public historic museum.

• 1985

  Conversion to a state historic house museumStrategy

  Background

  The property had remained in the Collins family after its purchase in 1941, with the family preserving and refurnishing the house. Florida sought to protect the site and make its history available to the public.

  Action taken

  The State of Florida acquired The Grove and designated it for operation as a historic house museum, while granting the Collins family life leases.

  Aftermath

  The site became a public heritage institution. After Mary Call Collins's death in 2009, the property formally returned to state control.

  Source

1. 1The Grove Plantationen.wikipedia.org
2. 2The Grove Museum official websitethegrovemuseum.com