Bull Run Plantation was a private

estate Estate or The Estate may refer to: Law * Estate (law), a term in common law for a person's property, entitlements and obligations * Estates of the realm, a broad social category in the histories of certain countries. ** The Estates, representativ ...

owned by Julien C. (Bull) Headley (Heed-Lee) located in Leon County,

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

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History

Originally a large part of Water Oak Plantation owned by Frances C. Griscom, Headley purchased all but a few hundred acres from Griscom in 1951. He named it Bull Run Plantation. Julian C. (Bull) Headley was a lumberman by career. Starting with the land itself, Headley reduced most of the trees converting the land to cattle range where he ran about 500 head of

beef cattle Beef cattle are cattle raised for meat production (as distinguished from dairy cattle, used for milk (production)). The meat of mature or almost mature cattle is mostly known as beef. In beef production there are three main stages: cow-calf opera ...

and used the Louisiana Catahoula Leopard Dog for herding.

The house

Upon purchasing the property, Headley found that the old Griscom home was too small and in need of extensive repairs. Headley had the house razed and built a new brick mansion overlooking

Lake Iamonia Lake Iamonia is a large, subtropical prairie lake in northern Leon County, Florida, United States, created during the Pleistocene epoch. History Forming Iamonia Lake Iamonia's base was established during the Early Pleistocene through submergen ...

. He brought in pecan and other expensive wood for the home's interior paneling and finish work. The roof was over-engineered using

rafter A rafter is one of a series of sloped structural members such as Beam (structure), steel beams that extend from the ridge or hip to the wall plate, downslope perimeter or eave, and that are designed to support the roof Roof shingle, shingles, ...

s which measured by and set every . Headley also built a large bathhouse and swimming pool reportedly to cost $25,000. He also had polar bear rugs. The bricks from Griscom's home were used along with bricks he brought in from

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

to create terraces and walkways.

Grounds

Headley was a sportsman enjoying hunting and sports fishing. He preserved large areas of his property especially for hunting and fishing. He constructed a dam to slow a small stream that flowed south to north to create the chain of lakes now running through Golden Eagle Country Club. Headley then created his own duck lake called Lake Monkey Business.

Sale

In 1964 Headley became attracted to the prospects in

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, specifically its timber resources. Headley sold his property to a

syndicate A syndicate is a self-organizing group of individuals, companies, corporations or entities formed to transact some specific business, to pursue or promote a shared interest. Etymology The word ''syndicate'' comes from the French word ''syndic ...

of sportsmen and left for

British Honduras British Honduras was a Crown colony on the east coast of Central America — specifically located on the southern edge of the Yucatan Peninsula from 1783 to 1964, then a self-governing colony — renamed Belize from June 1973

(

Belize Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...

). The syndicate was interested in a recreational preserve. One of the members was Gillis Long, a Congressman from

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

and assistant secretary of the

Office of Economic Opportunity The Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) was the agency responsible for administering most of the War on Poverty programs created as part of United States president Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society legislative agenda. It was established in 1964 a ...

under President

Lyndon Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after assassination of John F. Kennedy, the assassination of John F. Ken ...

. Kinhega Lodge was established and a Donald Davis was put in charge of developing fields and ponds and supervise hunting and fishing. Plans for a golf course and landing strip bankrupted the syndicate, bringing it to its end. Kinhega Lodge was sold to the Killearn Lakes developer in 1985.

References

*Paisley, Clifton; ''From Cotton To Quail'', University of Florida Press, c1968. *Unknown author: History of Killearn Lakes Plantation {{Coord, 30.5805, -84.2266, display=title Plantations in Leon County, Florida 1951 establishments in Florida