La Grange Plantation was a large cotton plantation of 4150 acre (1,679.4 ha) located in central Leon County

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...

, USA established by Joseph John Williams.

Location

La Grange Plantation was located just east of Tallahassee in 2 tracts of land. The western most tract bordered the James Kirksey Plantation

James Kirksey Plantation

The James A. Kirksey Plantation was a moderate plantation of located in northwestern Leon County, Florida, United States, established by James A. Kirksey....

 on the east and Barrow Hill Plantation

Barrow Hill Plantation

This article is about the plantation.For the adventure game, see Barrow Hill.Barrow Hill Plantation was a large cotton plantation of located in central Leon County, Florida, USA established by John S. Winthrop.-Location:...

 on the south.

The second tract of land to the east and much larger than the first bordered R. A. Whitfield's The House Place Plantation

The House Place Plantation

The House Place Plantation was a small cotton plantation of located in central Leon County, Florida, United States established by R.A. Whitfield.- Location :...

 on the west, Barrow Hill Plantation

Barrow Hill Plantation

This article is about the plantation.For the adventure game, see Barrow Hill.Barrow Hill Plantation was a large cotton plantation of located in central Leon County, Florida, USA established by John S. Winthrop.-Location:...

's second tract of land on the east, and to the south it bordered Evergreen Hills Plantation

Evergreen Hills Plantation

Evergreen Hills Plantation was a large cotton plantation of 6700 acres located in eastern Leon County, Florida, United States established by Green A. Chaires.-Location:Evergreen Hills was located in 2 tracts...

 and the Francis Eppes Plantation

Francis Eppes Plantation

The Francis Eppes Plantation was a small cotton plantation of 1920 acres situated in east-central Leon County, Florida, United States and established by Francis W. Eppes in 1829.-Location:...

.

Plantation specifics

The Leon County Florida 1860 Agricultural Census shows that the La Grange Plantation had the following:

• Improved Land: 3150 acre (1,274.8 ha)
• Unimproved Land: 1000 acre (404.7 ha)
• Cash value of plantation: $
  United States dollar
  The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
  
  55,200
• Cash value of farm implements/machinery: $3425
• Cash value of farm animals: $13,134
• Number of slaves: 232
• Bushels of corn: N/A
• Bales of cotton: N/A

Purchasing agents for land, equipment and slaves:

• J. L. Stroman
• W. J. Akin
• R. B. Cole
• T. W. Ross
• D. F. Hurger

La Grange was Leon County's largest producer of cotton at the beginning of the 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...

. Williams would go on to inherit 7000 acre (2,832.8 ha) of land from his father-in-law, Noah Thompson.

Other Plantations

Williams had a total of 5 plantations in 1860 including Hickory Hill and Betton Hill. His total cotton production was 1113 bales from 3900 acre (1,578.3 ha) of land. The total value of Williams' holdings was $121,000 and his slaves were worth $150,000. In today's value, his holding would be $2,109,030 and slave value at $2,614,500.

The owner

Joseph John Williams was the son of General William Williams and Delia Haywood. J. J. Williams was the only surviving son of William and Delia when William died. Aside from agriculture, Jospeph John Williams was a voter in the 1st Statewide Election, Monday, May 26, 1845. Williams was also a Florida state representative from Leon County in 1860.

On November 19, 1876, Williams died from a heart attack in Raleigh, North Carolina

Raleigh, North Carolina

Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...

 while on a visit to see his mother. She had died the day before.

Joseph John Wiliams had a town home at 217 N. Calhoun Street which was built in 1839 for W.P. Gorman. It sold to Dr. English, a Harvard mathematics professor who came to Tallahassee for his health. Later sold to Williams as a town house for his family. The house was demolished in 1955.