Kinhega Lodge
Encyclopedia
Leon County, Florida
Leon County is a county located in the state of Florida, named after the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León. At the 2010 Census, the population was 275,487. The county seat of Leon County is Tallahassee which also serves as the state capital. The county seat is home to two of Florida's major...
, 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...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on Lake Iamonia.
From the 1830s through 1866 the land was part of the cotton plantation known as Water Oak Plantation
Water Oak Plantation
Water Oak Plantation was a was a small cotton plantation of located in northern Leon County, Florida, USA established by Richard Bradford.- Location :Water Oak was located in the general area of Bradfordville.Adjacent plantations:...
owned by Richard Bradford.
Horseshoe Plantation
In 1901, Clement A. GriscomClement Griscom
Clement Acton Griscom was a prominent American Quaker businessman and nineteenth century shipping magnate.-Biography:...
, a businessman and shipping magnate from Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
whose family gained much wealth after 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...
with the American Line
American Line
The American Line was a shipping company based in Philadelphia that was founded in 1871. It began as part of the Pennsylvania Railroad, although the railroad got out of the shipping business soon after founding the company...
and Red Star Line
Red Star Line
The Red Star Line was an ocean passenger line founded in 1871 as a joint venture between the International Navigation Company of Philadelphia, which also ran the American Line, and the Société Anonyme de Navigation Belgo-Américaine of Antwerp, Belgium...
purchased 978 acre (395.8 ha) and plantation house in the horseshoe bend of Lake Iamonia for $5300 from R. E. Lester, the son of Capt. William Lester of Oaklawn Plantation.
From 1902 through 1903 Griscom purchased land from heirs of Burgesstown Plantation
Burgesstown Plantation
Burgesstown Plantation was a large cotton plantation of in northern Leon County, Florida, United States established by Frederich R. Cotten between 1850 and 1855.-Plantation location:...
, the Whitehead family, and many other owners retaining the name of Horseshoe Plantation
Horseshoe Plantation
Horseshoe Plantation is an cotton plantation located in northern Leon County, Florida and established around 1840 by Dr. Edward Bradford, a planter from Enfield, North Carolina.It is currently owned and maintained by Frederic C. Hamilton. Mr...
. The plantation eventually was more than 10000 acre (4,046.9 ha) in size with over 25 mi (40.2 km) of woodland drives.
When Clement A. Griscom
Clement Griscom
Clement Acton Griscom was a prominent American Quaker businessman and nineteenth century shipping magnate.-Biography:...
died on October 19, 1916, Horseshoe Plantation
Horseshoe Plantation
Horseshoe Plantation is an cotton plantation located in northern Leon County, Florida and established around 1840 by Dr. Edward Bradford, a planter from Enfield, North Carolina.It is currently owned and maintained by Frederic C. Hamilton. Mr...
was divided up and part sold. Lloyd C. Griscom received 4000 acre (1,618.7 ha) on the west side naming it Luna Plantation
Luna Plantation
Luna Plantation was a quail hunting plantation located in northeastern Leon County, Florida, United States established by Lloyd C. Griscom.Lloyd C. Griscom was the son of Clement A. Griscom from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Clement was a shipping magnate, President of the Red Star Line and American...
while Frances C. Griscom
Frances C. Griscom
Frances Canby Griscom was an American amateur golfer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States and part-time resident of Tallahassee, Florida....
, a sportswoman, received 7000 acre (2,832.8 ha) of the old plantation to the east and named it Water Oak Plantation
Water Oak Plantation
Water Oak Plantation was a was a small cotton plantation of located in northern Leon County, Florida, USA established by Richard Bradford.- Location :Water Oak was located in the general area of Bradfordville.Adjacent plantations:...
. Frances Griscom was the 1900 United States Women's Amateur Golf Champion
United States Women's Amateur Golf Championship
The U.S. Women's Amateur is the leading golf tournament in the United States for female amateur golfers. It is played annually and is one of the 13 United States national golf championships organized by the United States Golf Association . Female amateurs from all nations are eligible to compete...
.
Becoming Kinhega
In 1951 Frances Griscom sold a large part of Water Oak Plantation to J.C. (Bull) Headley, a recent transplanted from Kentuckian. Griscom retained Water Oak with a few hundred acres of land. Headley turned his property in to Bull Run PlantationBull Run Plantation
Bull Run Plantation was a private estate owned by Julien C. Headley located in Leon County, Florida, United States.-History:Originally a large part of Water Oak Plantation owned by Frances C. Griscom, Headley purchased all but a few hundred acres from Griscom in 1951. He named it Bull Run...
, a luxurious farm which grew in agricultural output. Headley ran several hundred head of cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
and continued with operations as a hunting plantation.
In 1964 Headley sold his hunting lodge and 3700 acre (1,497.3 ha) to Gillis Long, a Congressman from Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
and assistant secretary of the Office of Economic Opportunity
Office of Economic Opportunity
The Office of Economic Opportunity was the agency responsible for administering most of the War on Poverty programs created as part of United States President Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society legislative agenda.- History :...
under President Lyndon Johnson. A group of hunters, golfers, and fishing enthusiasts also got involved and the property became Kinhega Lodge. The lodge was more a water fowl and fishing lodge and supplied members with four man-made lakes, including nearby Lake Monkey Business
Lake Monkey Business
Lake Monkey Business is a private park and lake not opened to the public located in northern Leon County, Florida and within the planned private community of Killearn Lakes Plantation.- History :Though the lake was created by Julian C...
, a 90 acre (36.4 ha) lake for duck
Duck
Duck is the common name for a large number of species in the Anatidae family of birds, which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the Anatidae family; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered...
s, plus Lake Iamonia. Though some quail hunting took place, it was not as prevalent as the quail hunting plantations nearby.
In 1963 Kinhega was reorganized and took in members from Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, and New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
among others. Membership was at 100 with Gillis Long still involved. Another prominent member was Jack Ladd, a vice-president of Holiday Inns of America
Holiday Inn
Holiday Inn is a brand of hotels, formally a economy motel chain, forming part of the British InterContinental Hotels Group . It is one of the world's largest hotel chains with 238,440 bedrooms and 1,301 hotels globally. There are currently 5 hotels in the pipeline...
in Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
.
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Adjacent plantations:
- Horseshoe PlantationHorseshoe PlantationHorseshoe Plantation is an cotton plantation located in northern Leon County, Florida and established around 1840 by Dr. Edward Bradford, a planter from Enfield, North Carolina.It is currently owned and maintained by Frederic C. Hamilton. Mr...
to the east - Luna PlantationLuna PlantationLuna Plantation was a quail hunting plantation located in northeastern Leon County, Florida, United States established by Lloyd C. Griscom.Lloyd C. Griscom was the son of Clement A. Griscom from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Clement was a shipping magnate, President of the Red Star Line and American...
to the west - Ayavalla PlantationAyavalla PlantationAyavalla Plantation was a quail hunting plantation located in west central Leon County, Florida established by John Henry Phipps, son of John Shaffer Phipps of the prominent Phipps family.Ayavalla was the Indian word used by Ellen Call Long for Lake Jackson...
to the south
Kinega would eventually become Kinhega Lodge Estates, Limited. In the early 1970s the property sold again to investors who developed the property into Killearn Lakes Plantation, a development of 4,500 homes.