Goodwood Plantation facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Goodwood Museum & Gardens
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 Location in Florida
Location in the United States
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| Location | Leon County, Florida |
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| Nearest city | Tallahassee |
| Architectural style | Georgian |
| NRHP reference No. | 72000334 |
| Added to NRHP | June 30, 1972 |
Goodwood Museum & Gardens is a special historic place in Tallahassee, Florida. It was once a large cotton farm called Goodwood Plantation. Today, it is a museum where you can explore the old house and its beautiful gardens. The house is filled with original furniture, art, and items from the families who lived there. It shows what life was like, especially around the time of World War I.
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Exploring Goodwood Museum & Gardens
The main house at Goodwood is now a historic house museum. Inside, you can see furniture, dishes, fabrics, and art that belonged to the families who lived there. The rooms are set up to look like they did around World War I. You can visit the house with a guide, but there is a small fee.
The gardens at Goodwood cover about 19 acres (77,000 square meters). They were designed in the early 1900s and are free to visit. It's a great place to walk around and enjoy nature.
Goodwood's Early Days and Owners
In 1824, the U.S. Congress gave a large piece of land in Florida to the Marquis de Lafayette. This was to thank him for his help during the American Revolutionary War. He never visited the land, but he sold parts of it. In 1834, a man named Hardy Croom bought 2,400 acres (9.7 square kilometers) from this grant. This land became Goodwood Plantation.
Goodwood Plantation was a medium-sized farm in Leon County, Florida. It covered about 1,675 acres (7 square kilometers). The plantation was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.
The Croom Family and Enslaved People
The Croom family were rich tobacco farmers from North Carolina. They started buying land in North Florida in the 1820s. Hardy Bryan Croom bought the land for Goodwood in 1833. His younger brother, Bryan Hardy Croom, also bought land nearby.
The Croom brothers brought about 60 enslaved people from their farms in North Carolina to Florida. They bought many more enslaved people to work on their cotton and corn farms. In 1850, Bryan Croom owned 129 enslaved people at Goodwood. He also managed about 40 more who belonged to his mother-in-law.
A Family Tragedy
Hardy Croom's time in Florida was short. In 1837, he, his wife, and their three children were on a ship called the S.S. Home. They were traveling from New York City to Charleston, South Carolina. Sadly, the ship sank in a hurricane off the coast of North Carolina. Hardy and his whole family died in the accident.
Because Hardy did not have a will, his brother Bryan Croom thought he would inherit Goodwood. Bryan started building a large, beautiful house on the property. This house was about 10,000 square feet (930 square meters) and was mostly built by enslaved workers. The house was finished around 1850. It was designed in an Italianate style, with a dark rose color and fancy burgundy railings.
A Long Court Case
After the ship tragedy, Hardy's wife's family, especially her mother, Henrietta Smith, started a long court case. They wanted to know who should inherit the estate when a whole family dies without a will. The case lasted for about 20 years.
In 1857, the Florida Supreme Court decided that the Smith family should get much of the estate. The court looked at whether Hardy Croom was living in North Carolina or Florida when he died. They also tried to figure out who died last in the shipwreck. Witnesses said Hardy's son was the last family member seen alive. This meant the inheritance would go through the maternal side of the family.
Goodwood's Owners Over Time
After the court case, Bryan Croom moved away. In 1858, Mrs. Smith sold Goodwood to Arvah Hopkins. Mr. Hopkins was a businessman from New York who lived in Tallahassee. He bought 1,576 acres (6.4 square kilometers) of land and 41 enslaved people. The Hopkins family continued farming at Goodwood until 1865. After the Civil War, formerly enslaved people continued to farm the land as sharecroppers or tenant farmers.
The Arrowsmith and Tiers Families
In 1885, an Englishman named Dr. William Lamb Arrowsmith bought Goodwood. He brought some paintings and furniture that are still in the house today. Dr. Arrowsmith died soon after, and his wife lived on the estate for over 25 years.
In 1911, Mrs. Arrowsmith sold Goodwood to a very wealthy widow named Mrs. Alexander Tiers. Mrs. Tiers only spent winters at Goodwood. She made many big changes to the estate. She remodeled the house to look like Mount Vernon, with grand Georgian columns. She also added a water tower, an amusement hall, guest cottages, and a heated swimming pool. Mrs. Tiers loved to entertain, and many of her rich friends from the North visited Goodwood.
The Hodges and Hood Families
In 1925, Mrs. Tiers sold Goodwood to Florida State Senator William C. Hodges. Senator Hodges and his wife, Margaret Wilson, entertained many important people at Goodwood, including politicians, artists, and writers. They also kept many interesting animals like peacocks, parrots, and even small monkeys!
Senator Hodges passed away in 1940. His wife, Margaret, later remarried Thomas Milton Hood in 1948. After Margaret's death in 1978, Major Hood rented out the guest cottages, creating a lively community of artists. He also started planning to turn Goodwood into a museum and public park. He created the Margaret E. Wilson Foundation to honor his wife.
Major Hood worked hard to save Goodwood from being sold or torn down for new buildings. He passed away in 1990. Thanks to his efforts, Goodwood is now a museum and gardens for everyone to enjoy and learn from.
Images for kids
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Hardy Croom (1837)
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Arvah Hopkins (1866)
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View from the barn.
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Tower under renovation, as it appeared in 2010.
See also
- Plantations of Leon County
