Tracing the steps of Leon County's Miccosukee Indians

Gerald Ensley will long be remembered for his interesting and entertaining articles about our local history, and his contribution to our community is sorely missed.  However, he established a tradition that deserves to be continued, and I hope that this first article will be the beginning of a series of historical articles written about Tallahassee and Leon County.

Tucked away in the Northeast corner of Leon County is a large lake and a community bearing the name “Miccosukee.”

Because of its isolated location, most have never been near the area, but in the early 1800s the western side of Lake Miccosukee was the home of the Miccosukee Indian tribe. In 1818, this settlement stretched 10 miles along the western shoreline and had a population of well over 1,000 people.  It was the largest settlement of Native Americans in Florida at the time, and it became the site of a major engagement in the First Seminole War.

The Miccosukee were Creek Indians that settled in Florida as the U.S. expansion pushed further south and west into Alabama and Georgia. They became part of the developing Seminole Nation and were noted for fighting white settlers along the Alabama and Georgia borders of Florida.

Florida had become a haven for the Miccosukee — along with escaped slaves from Georgia — because our state was under Spanish Rule at that time. (For the slaves, this meant that Florida was free territory.)  This didn’t end until 1821 when Florida became a Territory of the United States.

When Florida was under British rule for a 20-year period (1763-83), the British mapped the “Mikasuki” tribe with 60 homes, 28 families, and a town square.  The population and size of the Miccosukee had grown considerably by the time the Battle of Miccosukee rolled around on Wednesday, April 1, 1818.

 It is estimated that the Miccosukee Tribe had a population of 1,200 to 1,500 persons containing 300-400 households. It was considered to be the largest community in Florida at the time. (Pensacola had 181 houses while St. Augustine had 300.)

Captain Hugh Young, Andrew Jackson’s cartographer, gave the following description of the Miccosukee:

“The Indians raised abundance of corn, rice, potatoes, peas, beans and ground nuts-the soil yielding plentiful crops without much labor. They have immense droves of cattle and hogs roaming through the woods and the abundance of game gave them plenty of venison and skins. They also raised numbers of small but hardy horses. They traded at St. Marks and Apalachicola with skins, fur, rice, cattle, etc., and received in exchange woolens, cutlery, guns and ammunition. They had no arts. Even of pottery they were ignorant from the want of proper clay for the manufacture. Of spinning they knew nothing. They pounded their corn meal and never had the art of grinding even in its rudest form. Their agriculture was of the simplest kind. The looseness  of the soil obviated the necessity of heavy labor and the work of a few hoers soon opened a field and prepared a crop. Their cabins were neatly built and their rude furniture kept in decent condition.”

The Miccosukee town had a central square that functioned as a ceremonial and governmental center. It consisted of four inward facing structures that were open in front but enclosed on the sides and back. They were aligned to the center of the square, and seating was designated based on rank, age, status, etc.  

The chief’s cabin stood nearby. From that square the settlement spread out for miles in a loose arrangement, unlike today’s towns. The people lived in family groups and their houses were solidly built, many in cabins that rivaled and often surpassed those of the early European settlers.

As if living in a land of beautiful rolling hills with hardwood and pine forests and fertile soil was not enough, they also had an abundance of deer, turkey and other wildlife as a food source—- and a large lake nearby, teeming with fish. Thanks to the Spanish, the area happened to be rich with feral cattle that had vastly increased in numbers over the years, very possibly from the herd at Mission San Luis.

The Miccosukee world came to a violent end on Wednesday, April 1, 1818, when Andrew Jackson showed up, a story for another time.

Further information on Miccosukee can be found in “Florida’s Seminole Wars” by Joe Knetsch and  “The Seminole Wars” by John Missall and Mary Lou Missall.

Dave Lang, descended from one of the earliest Leon County settlers,  is the former Clerk of Courts for Leon County and is former president and current board member of the Tallahassee Historical Society.