Evergreen Hills Plantation facts for kids
Evergreen Hills Plantation was a very large cotton farm in eastern Leon County, Florida, United States. It covered about 6,700 acres (27 square kilometers) and was started by a man named Green H. Chaires.
Where Was Evergreen Hills?
Evergreen Hills was located in two main areas. The first part was next to La Grange Plantation on the north and the Francis Eppes Plantation to the east.
The second part was at the eastern end of Lake Lafayette and bordered a section of Chemonie Plantation on the east. Evergreen Hills, along with Benjamin Chaires' Vendura Plantation and Thomas Peter's Woodlawn Plantation, helped create the center of the community known as Chaires, Florida. In 2000, the Chaires community was added to the National Register of Historic Places, which means it's recognized as an important historical site.
Today, the land where Evergreen Hills once stood is home to places like the Chaires-Capitola Community Park and several neighborhoods. These include areas around Chaires Cross Road, Green Oak Drive, Boykin Road, Boyette Lane, and Bucklake Road.
What Was Grown and Produced?
Records from 1860 show what Evergreen Hills Plantation was like:
- Improved Land: About 3,600 acres (15 square kilometers) of land were ready for farming.
- Unimproved Land: Another 3,100 acres (13 square kilometers) were not yet used for farming.
- Value of the Plantation: The farm itself was worth about US$53,600.
- Value of Tools: The farm tools and machines were worth about $900.
- Value of Animals: The farm animals were worth about $11,460.
- People Enslaved: Many people were forced to work on the plantation. In 1860, about 135 enslaved people lived and worked at Evergreen Hills.
- Corn Harvest: The plantation grew 6,000 bushels of corn.
- Cotton Harvest: It also produced 350 bales of cotton, which was a very important crop at the time.
Who Owned Evergreen Hills?
Green Hill Chaires was the owner of Evergreen Hills Plantation. His brother, Benjamin Chaires, helped plan and name the city of Jacksonville, Florida in 1822. Green Hill Chaires also had a son named Green Averitt Charles. Green Chaires was even a voter in Florida's first election in 1845.
During the time Florida was a U.S. territory (from 1821 to 1845), Green Hill Chaires and his brothers, Benjamin and Thomas Peter, moved to Leon County. They all started very large plantations. Green Hill Chaires' first plantation grew to an amazing 20,000 acres (80 square kilometers) and had a big house on Lake Lafayette. During the Second Seminole War (1835–1842), Green Chaires' home was destroyed, and his family and some enslaved people faced terrible violence.
Besides owning a plantation, Green Chaires also helped build Florida's first plank road. This road connected plantations in Leon County to the shipping towns of Newport and St. Marks on the Gulf Coast. He was also on the Board of Directors for the Tallahassee Railroad from 1861 to 1865, showing his involvement in transportation.
