Foshalee Plantation was a large

quail hunting plantation A quail hunting plantation is a large tract of land typically with a natural wooded and grass habitat for the purpose of recreational hunting of bobwhite quail. Range Quail hunting plantations are found throughout the Southern United States, from T ...

located in northern 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 ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

History

First called Incochee, it was purchased in 1824 by Hezekiah and Ann Graham Ponder. Hezekiah and Ann are buried in a cemetery near U.S. 319. During the

antebellum Antebellum, Latin for "before war", may refer to: United States history * Antebellum South, the pre-American Civil War period in the Southern US ** Antebellum Georgia ** Antebellum South Carolina ** Antebellum Virginia * Antebellum architectu ...

years the land was owned by John Miller and totaled . During the 1890s, the very wealthy Hanna family, owners of the M. A. Hanna Company, had been visiting

Thomasville, Georgia Thomasville is the county seat of Thomas County, Georgia, United States. The population was 18,881 in 2020. The city deems itself the "City of Roses" and holds an annual Rose Festival. The city features plantations open to the public, a histor ...

regularly like many northern wealthy people. During the latter 1890s, the Hannas' crossed the Florida border and began purchasing land in Leon County. Sydney E. Hutchinson of

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

purchased the land to be called Foshalee Plantation between 1910 and 1914. The land lay west of Foshalee Slough, a swampy lowland extending from the eastern edge of

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 ...

. The purchase was for several miles of property to the east of the lake as well as to the north and south. Eventually Hutchinson would extend Foshalee to . Between the late 1910s and early 1920s, Hutchinson sold Foshalee to

Harry Payne Whitney Harry Payne Whitney (April 29, 1872 – October 26, 1930) was an American businessman, thoroughbred horse breeding, horse breeder, and member of the prominent Whitney family. Early years Whitney was born in New York City on April 29, 1872, as ...

, a wealthy

yachtsman A yacht () is a sail- or motor-propelled watercraft made for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a ...

and horse breeder. Whitney died October 26, 1930, and his wife,

Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (January 9, 1875 – April 18, 1942) was an American sculptor, art patron and collector, and founder in 1931 of the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. She was a prominent social figure and hostess, ...

, great-granddaughter of Commodore

Cornelius Vanderbilt Cornelius Vanderbilt (May 27, 1794 – January 4, 1877), nicknamed "the Commodore", was an American business magnate who built his wealth in railroads and shipping. After working with his father's business, Vanderbilt worked his way into lead ...

. kept Foshalee in operation until 1938. That year Mrs. Whitney sold the Foshalee to Mrs.

F. Ambrose Clark Frederick Ambrose Clark (August 1, 1880 – February 26, 1964) was an American heir and Equestrianism, equestrian. Early life "Brose" Clark was born on August 1, 1880, in Cooperstown, New York. He was the third son of Alfred Corning Clark (1844 ...

of Westbury,

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

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for $190,000. Mrs. Clark kept the property until 1949 after she was thrown by a horse which had stumbled into a nest of

yellow jacket Yellowjacket or yellowjacket is the common name in North America for predatory social wasps of the genus, genera ''Vespula'' and ''Dolichovespula''. Members of these genera are known simply as "wasps" in other English-speaking countries. Most of ...

1947 Adjacent plantations * Tall Timbers Plantation to the west * Sunny Hill Plantation to the east * Horseshoe Plantation to the south After Mrs. Clark, Foshalee then became a joint ownership of property between Robert Livingston Ireland, Jr. and David S. Ingalls of

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

. Ingalls was a director of Pan Am World Airways and

publisher Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

of the Cincinnati Times-Star. Ireland was an executive with M.A. Hanna Company, an extensive and powerful coal company. The Ingalls and Ireland families shared Foshalee equally as well as their properties of

Ring Oak Plantation Ring Oak Plantation is a large quail hunting plantation located in northeast 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 ...

and

Chemonie Plantation Chemonie Plantation was a forced-labor farm of in northern Leon County, Florida, United States, established by Hector Braden. By 1860, 64 enslaved people worked the land, which was primarily used to produce cotton as a cash crop. Location Chem ...

. Paisley, Clifton, ''From Cotton To Quail: An Agricultural Chronicle of Leon County, Florida, 1860-1967'', University of Florida Press, 1968. pp. 91-92 By 1966, Foshalee reported it had 5 tractors with under cultivation, 500 of which were

corn Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout Poaceae, grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago ...

, 60 growing

peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), goober pea, pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics by small and large ...

s, and {{convert, 80, acre, m2 left for

dove Columbidae is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with small heads, relatively short necks and slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. ...

. 1967 Adjacent plantations: *Sunny Hill Plantation to the east * Loveridge Plantation to the north *Horseshoe Plantation to the south

Publications

Rogers, William Warren, FOSHALEE Quail Country Plantation (with an overview of Leon County FL and Thomas Country GA). Sentry Press 1989, ASIN B000M0VHBY

External links

Turning Back The Clock: Researchers in northern Florida are working to create a first-class quail hunting preserve at Foshalee Plantation

References

History of Leon County, Florida Plantations in Leon County, Florida 1824 establishments in Florida Territory