Recent from talks
Center Hill, Florida
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Center Hill, Florida
Center Hill is a city in Sumter County, Florida, United States. The population was 846 at the 2020 census.
By 1800, Black Seminoles and "maroons", or fugitive slaves, had settled in the present-day City of Center Hill, which was initially called "Abraham's Old Town", near the Wahoo Swamp. The Abraham in question was a formerly enslaved man known as Negro Abram. Maroons who fought for England joined the Black Seminoles after the runaway slaves fled to Florida, a free territory under Spanish rule, to avoid remaining in slavery following the American Revolution. Both Black Seminoles and maroons lived with the Seminoles in a feudal-like relationship; the Black Seminoles paid the Seminoles with a percentage of their crops in exchange for their freedom. The Black Seminoles settled in the Center Hill area in 1813 and named it "Peliklakaha". Accompanying them was Seminole chief Micanopy, who made Peliklakaha his residence after the death of Payne.
The town had about 100 residents. They came as runaway slaves from Georgia. Others were of African descent, specifically from the Kongo region, and some Seminoles, including one of Micanopy's wives, lived in Peliklakaha. The town's layout was influenced by slave quarters, Seminole villages, and African villages. The residents lived in buildings constructed from daub, thatch, and lumber. Peliklakaha participated in regional trade with the Seminoles, black hunters travelling to South Florida, and white travelers as the village was located at the center of several well-travelled Native American trails.
The United States and Florida governments noticed the area's fertility. In 1823, while informing the Seminoles about the meeting at Moultrie Creek, Horatio S. Dexter, an envoy sent by Florida territorial governor William P. Duval, discovered that the Black Seminoles grew rice, peanuts, and corn. In 1826, United States Army General George McCall visited Peliklakaha and noticed that their farms were located on what General McCall called "the finest land".
Whites called the town "Abraham's Old Town", after Abraham, a former slave who had been given his freedom by the British and who served as a recruiter and an interpreter for the Seminoles. After hearing that Francis L. Dade and his men were to cross through the territory, Abraham anticipated an attack on Peliklakaha and convinced Micanopy to move Seminole soldiers to the Fort King Road. Abraham left the village after the Dade battle on December 28, 1835. A short time later in 1836, General Winfield Scott moved General Abraham Eustis' troops to the Peliklakaha area to destroy the Seminoles. General Eustis and his troops burned Peliklakaha; no Seminoles were killed as Peliklakaha's population fled to the Wahoo Swamp before Eustis' forces arrived. General Eustis would later commission a painting depicting the burning of Peliklakaha, which later was hung in the Library of Congress.
On April 19, 1842, Colonel William J. Worth attacked Halleck Tustenuggee at Peliklakaha. During the battle, Halleck Tustenuggee and his warriors constructed a log barricade. United States Army soldiers attacked the front of the barricade while dragoons attacked from the back. Halleck Tustenuggee and his warriors retreated, and the United States Army burned the camp. The battle left one soldier dead and four wounded on the United States side and one soldier killed and one captured on the Seminole side. A few days later, Halleck Tustenuggee, two of his wives, and two of his children voluntarily surrendered to Worth at Warm Springs. On August 14, 1842, Worth declared the Second Seminole War over.
In the late 1830s and early 1840s, the Mobley and Beville families settled in the area. Either the town's postmaster Thomas W. Spicer or Carrie Lovell named the town "Center Hill". Spicer thought that the town was the hub of activity. Lovell named the town after its location of being on a hill in the center of the county. In 1925, the City of Center Hill was officially incorporated as a municipality.
According to Broward Mill, the past president of the Sumter County Historical Society, Center Hill was known for its string bean production in the early part of the 20th century. In 1931, Center Hill shipped green beans, green peas, and lima beans to Baltimore, Boston, New York City, Chicago, and Detroit. Beginning in the mid-1930s, Center Hill's soil fertility declined. Local bean farmers blamed a decrease in the water table. They believed that the creation of the Jumper Creek Drainage District, which the local circuit court formed in 1922 to reclaim about 24,600 acres by draining water from Jumper Creek into Jumper Lake and the Withlacoochee River, deprived them of water and forced them to irrigate large fields. By 1975, bean production was virtually nonexistent, and the population decreased from a peak of 1,500 people to 37 in 1970. In 1988, area farmers still sent their bell peppers, cucumbers, squash, tomatoes, and watermelons to Center Hill for packing and shipping.
Hub AI
Center Hill, Florida AI simulator
(@Center Hill, Florida_simulator)
Center Hill, Florida
Center Hill is a city in Sumter County, Florida, United States. The population was 846 at the 2020 census.
By 1800, Black Seminoles and "maroons", or fugitive slaves, had settled in the present-day City of Center Hill, which was initially called "Abraham's Old Town", near the Wahoo Swamp. The Abraham in question was a formerly enslaved man known as Negro Abram. Maroons who fought for England joined the Black Seminoles after the runaway slaves fled to Florida, a free territory under Spanish rule, to avoid remaining in slavery following the American Revolution. Both Black Seminoles and maroons lived with the Seminoles in a feudal-like relationship; the Black Seminoles paid the Seminoles with a percentage of their crops in exchange for their freedom. The Black Seminoles settled in the Center Hill area in 1813 and named it "Peliklakaha". Accompanying them was Seminole chief Micanopy, who made Peliklakaha his residence after the death of Payne.
The town had about 100 residents. They came as runaway slaves from Georgia. Others were of African descent, specifically from the Kongo region, and some Seminoles, including one of Micanopy's wives, lived in Peliklakaha. The town's layout was influenced by slave quarters, Seminole villages, and African villages. The residents lived in buildings constructed from daub, thatch, and lumber. Peliklakaha participated in regional trade with the Seminoles, black hunters travelling to South Florida, and white travelers as the village was located at the center of several well-travelled Native American trails.
The United States and Florida governments noticed the area's fertility. In 1823, while informing the Seminoles about the meeting at Moultrie Creek, Horatio S. Dexter, an envoy sent by Florida territorial governor William P. Duval, discovered that the Black Seminoles grew rice, peanuts, and corn. In 1826, United States Army General George McCall visited Peliklakaha and noticed that their farms were located on what General McCall called "the finest land".
Whites called the town "Abraham's Old Town", after Abraham, a former slave who had been given his freedom by the British and who served as a recruiter and an interpreter for the Seminoles. After hearing that Francis L. Dade and his men were to cross through the territory, Abraham anticipated an attack on Peliklakaha and convinced Micanopy to move Seminole soldiers to the Fort King Road. Abraham left the village after the Dade battle on December 28, 1835. A short time later in 1836, General Winfield Scott moved General Abraham Eustis' troops to the Peliklakaha area to destroy the Seminoles. General Eustis and his troops burned Peliklakaha; no Seminoles were killed as Peliklakaha's population fled to the Wahoo Swamp before Eustis' forces arrived. General Eustis would later commission a painting depicting the burning of Peliklakaha, which later was hung in the Library of Congress.
On April 19, 1842, Colonel William J. Worth attacked Halleck Tustenuggee at Peliklakaha. During the battle, Halleck Tustenuggee and his warriors constructed a log barricade. United States Army soldiers attacked the front of the barricade while dragoons attacked from the back. Halleck Tustenuggee and his warriors retreated, and the United States Army burned the camp. The battle left one soldier dead and four wounded on the United States side and one soldier killed and one captured on the Seminole side. A few days later, Halleck Tustenuggee, two of his wives, and two of his children voluntarily surrendered to Worth at Warm Springs. On August 14, 1842, Worth declared the Second Seminole War over.
In the late 1830s and early 1840s, the Mobley and Beville families settled in the area. Either the town's postmaster Thomas W. Spicer or Carrie Lovell named the town "Center Hill". Spicer thought that the town was the hub of activity. Lovell named the town after its location of being on a hill in the center of the county. In 1925, the City of Center Hill was officially incorporated as a municipality.
According to Broward Mill, the past president of the Sumter County Historical Society, Center Hill was known for its string bean production in the early part of the 20th century. In 1931, Center Hill shipped green beans, green peas, and lima beans to Baltimore, Boston, New York City, Chicago, and Detroit. Beginning in the mid-1930s, Center Hill's soil fertility declined. Local bean farmers blamed a decrease in the water table. They believed that the creation of the Jumper Creek Drainage District, which the local circuit court formed in 1922 to reclaim about 24,600 acres by draining water from Jumper Creek into Jumper Lake and the Withlacoochee River, deprived them of water and forced them to irrigate large fields. By 1975, bean production was virtually nonexistent, and the population decreased from a peak of 1,500 people to 37 in 1970. In 1988, area farmers still sent their bell peppers, cucumbers, squash, tomatoes, and watermelons to Center Hill for packing and shipping.
Recent media