TALLAHASSE, post town, scat of justice for Leon county, and seat of government for the terri tory of Florida, is situated about 30 miles inland and north of St. Mark's Bay of the Gulf of Mexico; about 50 a little E. of N. from Ocklockonne Bay, 200 miles NW. by W. from St. Augustine, a simi lar distance a little N. of E. from Pensacola, and by calculation on Mercator's principles, S. 36° 10' W.; 725 statute miles, hut by post road 896 miles from Washington City. N. Lat. 30° 27'; Long. west from W. C. 7° 30'.
Tallahasse is recent in its foundation, the first buildings were erected there during the summer of 1824. The first legislature which sat in this new born city held its session in the winter of 1824-5. In 1825 it was incorporated a city. So rapid was the augmentation of its population, that when John Lee Williams published his " View of iVesi Florida" in 1827, he estimated the inhabitants at 800.
Mr. Williams concludes his notice of Tallahassee by observing,—" Few towns in America have in creased more rapidly; and population and improve ment continue without any abatement. It might in a few years become a charming place of residence, though it will probably never become a place of great commercial importance." Judge H. M. Brackenridge, from personal ob servation, thus describes the valley of Tallahasse.
"Instead of being a plain of unvaried surface, it resembles the high lands above the falls of the rivers in the Atlantic states, and is beautifully di versified by hill and dale, and rendered picturesque by the number of lakes, whose pure waters reflect the forests of oak which frequently clothe the sides of the hills, down to their very margins. These lakes receive a number of streams, which flow from the higher grounds and loose themselves in their placid bosoms. The largest of them are called the Iamony, Jackson, and Mickasukey, but there are many others of a smaller size, affording many beau tiful situations for country residences, where the naturally open groves of oak, hickory, beech, and magnolia grandiflora, surpass in magnificence the proudest parks of the English nobility. The soil
of the uplands bears a strong resemblance to the best part of Prince George's county, Maryland; and the face of the country is not unlike the south side of the Potomac near City. In the vallies there is a much heavier growth of timber, and frequently deep cane-brakes. There arc also frequently to be met with, grassy ponds, sur rounded by glades, which afford excellent pasturage.
" The only regret which I feel in contemplating this beautiful region, is its very limited extent—an Oasis, which appears to have been formed by na ture in one of her most sportive and fantastic hu mours. The general substratum, perhaps a few feet above the level of the sea, is a soft limestone of recent formation. In the pine wood plain, which stretches towards the high lands of Tallahasse, the stone is often found in masses on the surface.
" By the last census (1826), Tallahasse contained about eight hundred inhabitants, and five or six mercantile establishments, which do an extensive business. The country begins to wear the appear ance of cultivation; good roads arc made in all di rections, and carts, wagons, and carriages are con stantly travelling them." With due allowance for a natural warmth of de scription in the accounts given by emigrants into a new country, we may regard Tallahassc and the immediate vicinity as a delightful section of the southern part of the United States, but as Judge Brackenridge acknowledges, it is an Oasis.