Gamble Plantation Historic State Park
Encyclopedia
Gamble Plantation Historic State Park is a Florida State Park
located in Ellenton, Florida
on the Manatee River
and US 301
. It consists of the antebellum
mansion
developed by the first owner, Major Robert Gamble; a 40,000-gallon cistern
to provide the household with fresh water; and 16 acres (64,749.8 m²) of the sugar plantation. At its peak, the plantation occupied 3500 acres in south Florida, and Gamble likely held more than 600 slaves to work the property and process the sugar cane.
With the only surviving antebellum
plantation house in South Florida, the park is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
. The mansion's columns and two-foot-thick walls are constructed of tabby, a regional material developed as a substitute for brick. The park includes the restored wood-frame, two-story, Victorian-style Patten House, built in 1872 for owner George Patten.
In 1925 the mansion and grounds were bought by the United Daughters of the Confederacy
and donated to the state a memorial to Judah P. Benjamin
, who served in three Cabinet positions under Confederate
President Jefferson Davis
during the American Civil War
. He stayed at the plantation in May 1865 before escaping Federal forces, and sailing to England, where he had a second career. In 1937 the UDC installed a memorial plaque to Benjamin at the mansion. In 2002 the state acquired the property which holds the ruins of the plantation's sugar mill, one of the South's largest, and added it to the historic park complex.
, who left huge shell middens as evidence of their reliance on seafood. Historic tribes in this area included the Tocobaga
, Creek, Yamasee
and Seminole
.
At the close of the Seminole War in 1842, the United States opened the Florida frontier to settlement by European Americans. Major Robert Gamble, Jr. (b. 1813 in Virginia), who had served in the war, received 160 acres for homesteading, and arrived at the Manatee River site in 1844. Other sugar
planters from South Carolina and established slave states soon joined him along the rich Manatee River valley on the west coast of South Florida. They brought slaves with them and purchased others for sufficient labor to develop the frontier properties. Extensive slave labor was needed to clear the lands; plant, harvest and process sugar cane; and build the plantation houses, mills and outbuildings. By 1845 a dozen plantation
s along the riverfront were producing for the New Orleans market. The planters shipped their commodity crops downriver and across the Gulf of Mexico
to the international port.
The Gamble Mansion (1845–1850) was built principally by enslaved laborers and artisans from native materials, and construction took 5-6 years. It is an outstanding example of antebellum
construction in the Doric Revivalist Vernacular architectural style. The columns and the two-foot-thick walls were made of tabby, a unique regional material of the Southeast developed in South Carolina
and the Sea Islands
because of the shortage of clay
for bricks. The techniques were brought south by European-American planters and their African-American slaves. The workers created the material by mixing lime (extracted by burning crushed oyster shells), more crushed shells, sand and water. This was poured into forms for hardening and then were used like bricks. The new settlers found huge mounds of oyster shells in middens in the Native Americans
coastal villages. Today the mansion is considered a monument to the craftsmanship of the enslaved
African-American artisans and laborers who constructed it.
Next to the house is a covered, 40,000-gallon cistern
with a wood-shake roof, which Gamble had built to supply the household's fresh water needs. Fish were kept in the cistern to eat insects and help keep the water clean.
Gamble lived in the mansion and used it as the headquarters of his extensive sugar plantation. By 1850 he had hired an overseer, 30-year-old David Lanner from Georgia. That year on the US Census, Gamble declared his real estate worth $19,000. He held a total of 62 slaves. From starting with 160 acres, he rapidly acquired 3500 acres. In addition to the mansion, he directed the construction of numerous outbuildings and slave quarters (also constructed of tabby), and the wharf from which sugar and molasses
were shipped by schooner
and steamboat
. Likely more than 600 slaves lived and worked at the plantation at its peak. Due to a declining sugar market and debts, Gamble had to sell the property in 1856. This is the only surviving plantation house in South Florida
.
During the Civil War
, the mansion was occupied by Captain Archibald McNeill, a famous Confederate blockade runner. Judah P. Benjamin
, Confederate Secretary of State
, took refuge here during May 1865 while making his escape from Federal troops following defeat of the Confederacy
. He had been accused of having arranged for President Lincoln
's assassination
in April 1865, and feared being unable to get a fair trial after the war. McNeill aided Benjamin in escaping to the Bahamas. From there, he sailed to England, arriving with almost no resources. He went on to establish a distinguished second legal career in London, where in 1872 he was selected as Queen's Counsel
.
The Gamble sugar mill, one of the South's largest, was destroyed by Union
raiders in 1864. The brick ruins are located 1/2 mile north on State Road 683. The state acquired the property in 2002 and has cleared vegetation to make the ruins visible for visitors, while protecting them with a fence.
In 1872, the postwar owner George Patten had built a wooden, vernacular Victorian-style, two-story house for his living quarters. He had found the mansion in too poor condition for occupancy. The state has restored the Patten House, which is also part of the plantation park complex.
Tabby is a less permanent construction material than brick, and by 1902, the house and columns were deteriorating badly. In 1923 the Judah P. Benjamin Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy
(UDC) began to raise money to rescue the mansion from destruction. By 1925, they had bought the house and 16 acres, and donated the property to the state for preservation as a memorial to Judah Philip Benjamin. The state completed restoration of the house in 1927. The UDC arranged in 1937 for the installation of a memorial plaque to honor the service of Judah Philip Benjamin to the Confederacy. He served as Attorney General
, Secretary of War and Secretary of State
to President Jefferson Davis. Today, the mansion is furnished in the style of a successful mid-19th century plantation.
In January 2010, Janet Snyder Matthews, an historian at the University of Florida
and the former associate director of the National Park Service
, led a working seminar at the plantation. Her goal was for students to develop scholarly documentation on the plantation and its occupants, with a goal of upgrading the plantation's historic designation to reflect its significance, perhaps to that of a National Historic Landmark
.
Florida State Parks
The Florida State Parks encompass the majority of the lands that fall under the authority of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. There are 160 such entities, including nature reserves, recreation areas, and historic sites, which can be found in every corner of the state...
located in Ellenton, Florida
Ellenton, Florida
Ellenton is a census-designated place in Manatee County, Florida, United States. The population was 3,142 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Bradenton–Sarasota–Venice Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
on the Manatee River
Manatee River
The Manatee River is a river in Manatee County, Florida. The river arises in the northeastern corner of Manatee County and flows into the Gulf of Mexico at the southern edge of Tampa Bay. The Manatee River has a watershed that is approximately . Lake Manatee, an artificial reservoir, is located...
and US 301
U.S. Route 301 in Florida
U.S. Route 301 in Florida runs from the Sarasota-Bradenton-Venice, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area northeast to the Greater Jacksonville Metropolitan Area. The road is a spur of U.S...
. It consists of the antebellum
Antebellum architecture
Antebellum architecture is a term used to describe the characteristic neoclassical architectural style of the Southern United States, especially the Old South, from after the birth of the United States in the American Revolution, to the start of the American Civil War...
mansion
Mansion
A mansion is a very large dwelling house. U.S. real estate brokers define a mansion as a dwelling of over . A traditional European mansion was defined as a house which contained a ballroom and tens of bedrooms...
developed by the first owner, Major Robert Gamble; a 40,000-gallon cistern
Cistern
A cistern is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. Cisterns are distinguished from wells by their waterproof linings...
to provide the household with fresh water; and 16 acres (64,749.8 m²) of the sugar plantation. At its peak, the plantation occupied 3500 acres in south Florida, and Gamble likely held more than 600 slaves to work the property and process the sugar cane.
With the only surviving antebellum
Antebellum architecture
Antebellum architecture is a term used to describe the characteristic neoclassical architectural style of the Southern United States, especially the Old South, from after the birth of the United States in the American Revolution, to the start of the American Civil War...
plantation house in South Florida, the park is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. The mansion's columns and two-foot-thick walls are constructed of tabby, a regional material developed as a substitute for brick. The park includes the restored wood-frame, two-story, Victorian-style Patten House, built in 1872 for owner George Patten.
In 1925 the mansion and grounds were bought by the United Daughters of the Confederacy
United Daughters of the Confederacy
The United Daughters of the Confederacy is a women's heritage association dedicated to honoring the memory of those who served in the military and died in service to the Confederate States of America . UDC began as the National Association of the Daughters of the Confederacy, organized in 1894 by...
and donated to the state a memorial to Judah P. Benjamin
Judah P. Benjamin
Judah Philip Benjamin was an American politician and lawyer. Born a British subject in the West Indies, he moved to the United States with his parents and became a citizen. He later became a citizen of the Confederate States of America. After the collapse of the Confederacy, Benjamin moved to...
, who served in three Cabinet positions under Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
President Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Finis Davis , also known as Jeff Davis, was an American statesman and leader of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, serving as President for its entire history. He was born in Kentucky to Samuel and Jane Davis...
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. He stayed at the plantation in May 1865 before escaping Federal forces, and sailing to England, where he had a second career. In 1937 the UDC installed a memorial plaque to Benjamin at the mansion. In 2002 the state acquired the property which holds the ruins of the plantation's sugar mill, one of the South's largest, and added it to the historic park complex.
History
The coastal area was inhabited for thousands of years by varying cultures of indigenous peoplesIndigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
, who left huge shell middens as evidence of their reliance on seafood. Historic tribes in this area included the Tocobaga
Tocobaga
Tocobaga was the name of a chiefdom, its chief and its principal town during the 16th century in the area of Tampa Bay. The town was at the northern end of what is now called Old Tampa Bay, an arm of Tampa Bay that extends northward between the present-day city of Tampa and Pinellas County...
, Creek, Yamasee
Yamasee
The Yamasee were a multiethnic confederation of Native Americans that lived in the coastal region of present-day northern coastal Georgia near the Savannah River and later in northeastern Florida.-History:...
and Seminole
Seminole
The Seminole are a Native American people originally of Florida, who now reside primarily in that state and Oklahoma. The Seminole nation emerged in a process of ethnogenesis out of groups of Native Americans, most significantly Creeks from what is now Georgia and Alabama, who settled in Florida in...
.
At the close of the Seminole War in 1842, the United States opened the Florida frontier to settlement by European Americans. Major Robert Gamble, Jr. (b. 1813 in Virginia), who had served in the war, received 160 acres for homesteading, and arrived at the Manatee River site in 1844. Other sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
planters from South Carolina and established slave states soon joined him along the rich Manatee River valley on the west coast of South Florida. They brought slaves with them and purchased others for sufficient labor to develop the frontier properties. Extensive slave labor was needed to clear the lands; plant, harvest and process sugar cane; and build the plantation houses, mills and outbuildings. By 1845 a dozen plantation
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
s along the riverfront were producing for the New Orleans market. The planters shipped their commodity crops downriver and across the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
to the international port.
The Gamble Mansion (1845–1850) was built principally by enslaved laborers and artisans from native materials, and construction took 5-6 years. It is an outstanding example of antebellum
Antebellum architecture
Antebellum architecture is a term used to describe the characteristic neoclassical architectural style of the Southern United States, especially the Old South, from after the birth of the United States in the American Revolution, to the start of the American Civil War...
construction in the Doric Revivalist Vernacular architectural style. The columns and the two-foot-thick walls were made of tabby, a unique regional material of the Southeast developed in South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
and the Sea Islands
Sea Islands
The Sea Islands are a chain of tidal and barrier islands on the Atlantic Ocean coast of the United States. They number over 100, and are located between the mouths of the Santee and St. Johns Rivers along the coast of the U.S...
because of the shortage of clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
for bricks. The techniques were brought south by European-American planters and their African-American slaves. The workers created the material by mixing lime (extracted by burning crushed oyster shells), more crushed shells, sand and water. This was poured into forms for hardening and then were used like bricks. The new settlers found huge mounds of oyster shells in middens in the Native Americans
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
coastal villages. Today the mansion is considered a monument to the craftsmanship of the enslaved
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
African-American artisans and laborers who constructed it.
Next to the house is a covered, 40,000-gallon cistern
Cistern
A cistern is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. Cisterns are distinguished from wells by their waterproof linings...
with a wood-shake roof, which Gamble had built to supply the household's fresh water needs. Fish were kept in the cistern to eat insects and help keep the water clean.
Gamble lived in the mansion and used it as the headquarters of his extensive sugar plantation. By 1850 he had hired an overseer, 30-year-old David Lanner from Georgia. That year on the US Census, Gamble declared his real estate worth $19,000. He held a total of 62 slaves. From starting with 160 acres, he rapidly acquired 3500 acres. In addition to the mansion, he directed the construction of numerous outbuildings and slave quarters (also constructed of tabby), and the wharf from which sugar and molasses
Molasses
Molasses is a viscous by-product of the processing of sugar cane, grapes or sugar beets into sugar. The word molasses comes from the Portuguese word melaço, which ultimately comes from mel, the Latin word for "honey". The quality of molasses depends on the maturity of the sugar cane or sugar beet,...
were shipped by schooner
Schooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
and steamboat
Steamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
. Likely more than 600 slaves lived and worked at the plantation at its peak. Due to a declining sugar market and debts, Gamble had to sell the property in 1856. This is the only surviving plantation house in South Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
.
During the Civil War
Civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
, the mansion was occupied by Captain Archibald McNeill, a famous Confederate blockade runner. Judah P. Benjamin
Judah P. Benjamin
Judah Philip Benjamin was an American politician and lawyer. Born a British subject in the West Indies, he moved to the United States with his parents and became a citizen. He later became a citizen of the Confederate States of America. After the collapse of the Confederacy, Benjamin moved to...
, Confederate Secretary of State
Secretary of State
Secretary of State or State Secretary is a commonly used title for a senior or mid-level post in governments around the world. The role varies between countries, and in some cases there are multiple Secretaries of State in the Government....
, took refuge here during May 1865 while making his escape from Federal troops following defeat of the Confederacy
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
. He had been accused of having arranged for President Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
's assassination
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
in April 1865, and feared being unable to get a fair trial after the war. McNeill aided Benjamin in escaping to the Bahamas. From there, he sailed to England, arriving with almost no resources. He went on to establish a distinguished second legal career in London, where in 1872 he was selected as Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
.
The Gamble sugar mill, one of the South's largest, was destroyed by Union
Union (American Civil War)
During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...
raiders in 1864. The brick ruins are located 1/2 mile north on State Road 683. The state acquired the property in 2002 and has cleared vegetation to make the ruins visible for visitors, while protecting them with a fence.
In 1872, the postwar owner George Patten had built a wooden, vernacular Victorian-style, two-story house for his living quarters. He had found the mansion in too poor condition for occupancy. The state has restored the Patten House, which is also part of the plantation park complex.
Tabby is a less permanent construction material than brick, and by 1902, the house and columns were deteriorating badly. In 1923 the Judah P. Benjamin Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy
United Daughters of the Confederacy
The United Daughters of the Confederacy is a women's heritage association dedicated to honoring the memory of those who served in the military and died in service to the Confederate States of America . UDC began as the National Association of the Daughters of the Confederacy, organized in 1894 by...
(UDC) began to raise money to rescue the mansion from destruction. By 1925, they had bought the house and 16 acres, and donated the property to the state for preservation as a memorial to Judah Philip Benjamin. The state completed restoration of the house in 1927. The UDC arranged in 1937 for the installation of a memorial plaque to honor the service of Judah Philip Benjamin to the Confederacy. He served as Attorney General
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
, Secretary of War and Secretary of State
Secretary of State
Secretary of State or State Secretary is a commonly used title for a senior or mid-level post in governments around the world. The role varies between countries, and in some cases there are multiple Secretaries of State in the Government....
to President Jefferson Davis. Today, the mansion is furnished in the style of a successful mid-19th century plantation.
In January 2010, Janet Snyder Matthews, an historian at the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
and the former associate director of the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
, led a working seminar at the plantation. Her goal was for students to develop scholarly documentation on the plantation and its occupants, with a goal of upgrading the plantation's historic designation to reflect its significance, perhaps to that of a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
.
Recreational activities
The park is open from 8am to sundown, 365 days per year. No entrance fee is required to enter this park. Picnic tables are available. ADA accessible restroom facilities are available at the park. Guided tours of Gamble Mansion are offered six times daily at 9:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 1 p.m., 2 p.m., 3 p.m. and 4 p.m., Thursday through Monday. Tour fees are $6.00 per adult and $4.00 per child. A Visitor Center with a museum is open Thursday through Monday, 9 a.m. - 11: 45 a.m. and 12:45 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. The visitor center is closed and tours are not available on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Group tours can be arranged by calling the park at 941.723.4536.External links
- Gamble Plantation Historic State Park, Official Website
- Gamble Plantation, Official Website