THE PLANTATION CEMETERY AT BETTON HILLS
Posted by: Coinseekers
N 30° 27.948 W 084° 15.971
16R E 762478 N 3373578
A historical waymark located in the Betton Hills subdivision of Leon County.
Waymark Code: WM6Y65
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 08/04/2009
Views: 17
THE PLANTATION CEMETERY AT BETTON HILLS The site is all that remains of a much larger cemetery for African Americans dating from the pre-Civil War era through the 1940s. It was the main burial ground for black slaves and servants from the Betton Plantation as well as other surrounding plantations. The plantation system grew in North Florida as cotton plantations to the north depleted their soil from overuse. Prominent early plantations in this region included Goodwood, Waverly, and Live Oak. Turbett Betton was a prominent Tallahassee merchant who purchased roughly 1,200 acres from the Lafayette estate, lying between Thomasville and Centerville Roads. Shortly after Betton’s death in 1863, the land was purchased by Guy Winthrop. The emancipation of the slaves ruined the cotton industry and many planters turned their land into quail hunting plantations. In 1945, the Winthrop family began subdividing the property for a new housing community called Betton Hills. Henry Watson, buried at the back of the lot with his wife, was one of Winthrop’s servants. However, most of the burials were marked with a simple wooden cross or flowers, and so no longer remain. Evidence of a burial site is marked by elongated depressions in the earth covered with altered vegetation
Marker Number: F-410
Date: 1999
County: Leon
Marker Type: Roadside
Sponsored or placed by: BETTON HILLS NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION, RILEY HOSUSE HEREITAGE MUSEUM, AND THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Website: Not listed
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