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Black Archives at the Union Bank |
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Tallahassee, Florida |
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Completed in 1841 when Florida was still a territory, the Union Bank is the state's oldest surviving bank building. Chartered to help finance local cotton plantations, it ultimately closed because of crop failures, the Second Seminole War, and poor management. After the Civil War, it reopened as the Freedman's Savings and Trust Company for emancipated slaves and later served several other functions. In 1971, the Bank was moved from its original site, and, after restoration, it was opened as a museum in 1984. The Union Bank now serves as an extension of the Florida A&M University Black Archives, Research Center and Museum and is open to the public and school groups only on weekdays. Artifacts and documents reflecting black history and culture are on display, and public programs are provided by Black Archives staff. The museum is located in Tallahassee, Florida. |
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John G. Riley Center/Museum of African American History and Culture |
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Tallahassee, Florida |
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The Riley House is a little known historical and cultural gem that sits at the bottom of a hill in downtown Tallahassee, at the corner of Meridian and Jefferson Streets. In 1978, through the efforts of local preservationists, the Riley House became the second house in Florida owned by a black person to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places, the first being the Mary McLeod Bethune house in Volusia County. In 1995, a group of Tallahassee citizens established a museum at the Riley House dedicated to African-American history and culture. This facility draws more visitors and tourist into the area while providing a historically diverse attraction.
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Knott House Museum |
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Tallahassee, Florida |
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Built in 1843, probably by free black builder George Proctor, the Knott House was first occupied by attorney Thomas Hagner and his wife Catherine Gamble. The house served as temporary Union Headquarters in 1865, where Brigadier General Edward McCook announced the Emancipation Proclamation. Physician Dr. George Betton made the location his home and office in the 1880s. Betton assisted in the early medical training of his carriage driver, William Gunn, who became Florida’s first African - American physician. In the early 20th century, three Florida Supreme Court judges lived in the house, acquired by William and Luella Knott in 1928. As the wife of a state treasurer, Luella hosted notable social functions, and as a poet, she wrote verses about the home and its furnishings, causing the site to be known as "The House That Rhymes." With the death of the Knott's son in 1985, the Historic Tallahassee Preservation Board became the beneficiary, and after extensive renovations, the Knott House Museum opened to the public in 1992. Its administration was transferred to the Museum of Florida History in 1997. |
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