Vendura Plantation was a large cotton plantation of 3500 acre (1,416.4 ha) in eastern 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 Benjamin Chaires, Sr.

The Benjamin Chaires who owned VERDURA was not Benjamin Chaires Sr. That would have been his nephew, son of Green Hill Chaires.

Plantation specifics

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

• Improved Land: 1000 acre (404.7 ha)
• Unimproved Land: 11500 acre (607 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....
  
  20,000
• Cash value of farm implements/machinery: $650
• Cash value of farm animals: $4,235
• Number of slaves: 63
• Bushels of corn: 2500
• Bales of cotton: 160

In 1838, Vendura Plantation had 9440 acre (3,820.2 ha) of land.

Plantation house

Vendura's mansion was a 3 story brick home with 15 rooms. It had a very stately appearance with numerous columns in the front.

The name of Benjamin Chaires' plantation was Verdura and it was located about 12 miles southeast of downtown Tallahassee. It did not have columns on the front, but there was a row of columns on the east and west sides of the house. This house burned in the 1880s. The house pictured above is called The Columns and is located in downtown Tallahassee. It was on the corner of Adams and Park, but was moved to its current location, the corner of Park and Duval, in the 1970s. It is the current home of the Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce. The Chaires family lived in the columns periodically, most likely when Indian attacks were imminent, but Benjamin Chaires did not own the building. He signed the deed as President of the Union Bank which owned The Columns then. Verdura and The Columns were most likely built around the same time, the 1830s. Benjamin probably had a hand in the building of The Columns as he was a brick manufacturer in addition to his other endeavors.

The owner

Benjamin Chaires, Sr. was an early arrival in Leon County and one of the wealthiest land owners in Leon County. Benjamin Sr. died in 1838. Benjamin was the brother of Green H. Chaires of 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 Thomas Peter Chaires of Woodlawn Plantation

Woodlawn Plantation (Florida)

Woodlawn Plantation was a large plantation located in eastern Leon County, Florida, U.S. owned by Thomas Peter Chaires.Thomas Peter Chaires, along with his 2 brothers Green A. Chaires and Benjamin A. Chaires, established large plantations during the Florida Territorial Period of 1821-1845...

.

Benjamin Chaires was not referred to as "Sr." Benjamin Chaires Sr. was his nephew.

Benjamin Chaires is listed as a voter in First Florida Election of 1845.

Benjamin Chaires died in 1838. The voter listing probably refers to his nephew, Benjamin Chaires Sr. (son of Green Hill Chaires) or his own son Benjamin Chaires Jr. both of whom were born in 1821.