Verdura Plantation
Verdura Plantation was a large nineteenth-century cotton plantation in eastern Leon County, Florida, established by Benjamin Chaires Sr. and operated through enslaved labor.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
Verdura Plantation was a large antebellum cotton plantation in eastern Leon County, Florida, approximately ten miles east of Tallahassee. It was established by Benjamin Chaires Sr., an early settler in Leon County and one of the area’s wealthiest landowners. The property began with a 500-acre purchase in 1832 and became the central estate within Chaires’s expanding agricultural holdings. Chaires built a substantial brick residence on the original tract. The house was designed in the Greek Revival style and reportedly contained three floors, fifteen rooms, and a fireplace in each room. Interior partitions on the lower floor could be removed to form a ballroom approximately eighty feet long. Tuscan-columned verandas stood along the sides of the building. The plantation’s bricks were made on site by enslaved laborers, reflecting the dependence of the estate’s construction and agricultural economy on slavery. The plantation grew during the 1830s. In 1836, Chaires added an 800-acre agricultural tract and fifty-seven enslaved people to his holdings. When he died in 1838, his estate had expanded substantially. Tax records from 1839 described holdings of approximately 9,440 acres and eighty enslaved people, with his son Joseph Chaires managing the plantation that year. The estate continued to be enlarged and reorganized before its division among Chaires’s heirs. A foreclosure in 1842 transferred additional land and enslaved people valued at $35,570 into the estate’s holdings. Benjamin Chaires’s will left the principal house, the surrounding 500 acres, and ten percent of his personal property to his wife. In 1845, the county court authorized the division of the estate among his ten children, five of whom were minors. The distribution included roughly 10,000 acres, enslaved people, livestock, provisions, and agricultural equipment. The individual shares associated with Verdura remained among the largest plantation holdings in Leon County. Unlike some contemporary planters, Chaires died without the heavy indebtedness that led to extended litigation with banks, and his heirs continued to control substantial agricultural resources. The 1860 United States Census recorded sixty-three enslaved laborers at Verdura. That workforce produced 160 bales of cotton and 25,000 bushels of corn, illustrating the plantation’s mixed agricultural production while identifying cotton as its principal commercial crop. The plantation system was destabilized by the abolition of slavery after the Civil War and by a prolonged decline in the cotton market. Verdura subsequently deteriorated and was abandoned after its main house burned in 1885. The Chaires family sold the remaining property in 1948. Verdura Plantation is therefore best understood as a historical plantation estate rather than a contemporary consumer brand or operating business. Its significance lies in the study of slavery, landholding, architecture, agricultural production, inheritance, and the economic transformation of nineteenth-century North Florida. The former plantation is discussed in connection with Leon County’s plantation landscape and regional historic sites.
History
Benjamin Chaires Sr. established the estate that became known as Verdura Plantation after purchasing 500 acres in eastern Leon County in 1832. Chaires was an early settler in the county and accumulated extensive landholdings. The first tract, located about ten miles east of Tallahassee, became the nucleus of a much larger plantation complex. A large Greek Revival brick residence was constructed on the property. It had three floors, fifteen rooms, fireplaces throughout, and side verandas supported by Tuscan columns. The design included a lower level that could be opened into a ballroom about eighty feet long. The bricks were produced on the plantation by enslaved laborers. The house occupied an elevated site partly surrounded by a stream, and historical accounts described views toward the Gulf of Mexico from its attic under clear conditions. Chaires expanded the estate during the 1830s. In 1836, he added an 800-acre forced-labor farm and fifty-seven enslaved people. He died in 1838. Tax records from the following year listed approximately 9,440 acres and eighty enslaved people in the estate, with his son Joseph Chaires managing the property. The estate continued to grow before its eventual division, including through a 1842 foreclosure involving land and additional enslaved people valued at $35,570. Chaires’s will assigned the main house, its surrounding 500 acres, and ten percent of his personal property to his wife. The estate was divided among his ten children in 1845 after county-court authorization. Five of the children were minors. The division covered approximately 10,000 acres, enslaved people, livestock, provisions, and agricultural equipment. The resulting family holdings remained among the largest plantation properties in Leon County, and the heirs continued to maintain substantial land and agricultural resources. The plantation’s 1860 census record documented sixty-three enslaved laborers producing 160 bales of cotton and 25,000 bushels of corn. These figures show both the scale of the operation and its dependence on enslaved labor. Emancipation after the Civil War removed the labor system on which the plantation had been based, while weakness in the cotton market further damaged its economic viability. Verdura declined and was abandoned after the main house burned in 1885. The Chaires family retained the property for decades before selling it in 1948. The historical record places Verdura within the network of large plantations that shaped antebellum Leon County. Its history encompasses the expansion of slave-based agriculture, the construction and use of plantation architecture, the legal division of inherited estates, and the collapse of the plantation economy after the Civil War. It is not documented as an active commercial brand or institution today.
- 1948
Property sold by the Chaires family
[1]The Chaires family sold the remaining plantation property.
- 1885
Main house destroyed by fire
[1]The principal plantation house burned, after which the property was abandoned.
- 1860
Recorded agricultural production
[1]The census recorded sixty-three enslaved laborers producing 160 bales of cotton and 25,000 bushels of corn.
- 1845
Court-authorized inheritance division
[1]The county court authorized distribution of the Chaires estate among ten children, including land, enslaved people, livestock, provisions, and equipment.
- 1842
Foreclosure and further acquisition
[1]The estate foreclosed on land and additional enslaved people valued at $35,570 before division among the heirs.
- 1839
Estate recorded at large scale
[1]Tax records described the estate as comprising approximately 9,440 acres and eighty enslaved people; Joseph Chaires managed it.
- 1838
Death of Benjamin Chaires Sr.
[1]Chaires died, leaving an extensive plantation estate that was subsequently managed and divided among his heirs.
- 1836
Expansion of the forced-labor estate
[1]Chaires added an 800-acre farm and fifty-seven enslaved people to his holdings.
- 1832
Initial land purchase
[1]Benjamin Chaires Sr. purchased 500 acres east of Tallahassee, creating the nucleus of the future Verdura Plantation.
Products and positioning
A historical North Florida plantation estate centered on cotton cultivation and large-scale agricultural production by enslaved labor.
Agricultural commodity
Cotton
Cotton was the plantation’s principal commercial crop. The operation depended on enslaved labor and was recorded in 1860 as producing 160 bales. Cotton-market weakness after the Civil War contributed to the estate’s decline.
Agricultural commodity
Corn
Corn formed an important part of Verdura’s mixed agricultural production. The 1860 census attributed 25,000 bushels of corn to the sixty-three enslaved laborers recorded at the plantation.
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