Meridian is a small and old

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in northwestern 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.

Location

Meridian is located on the west side 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 ...

on N. Meridian Road, 12 miles north of

Tallahassee Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of and the only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2024, the est ...

History

Antebellum

Meridian started as the center and community gathering place for nearby

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 ...

cotton plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tobacco ...

s of Burgesstown, the William A. Carr Plantation,

Bannerman Plantation Bannerman Plantation was a forced-labor farm of about and located in northwest Leon County, Florida, just north of the old unincorporated community of Meridian and west-northwest of Lake Iamonia. Bannerman Plantation was established in 1852 ...

, the James A. Kirksey Plantation, and the G.W. Holland Plantation.

20th Century

In 1940, Meridian consisted of 20 homes in the immediate area and 20 more homes, a

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

, and school in the outlying area north of Meridian on N. Meridian Road. A

saw mill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

was located south and east of Meridian. Today, Meridian is still a community of several large homes and estates.

Political

Leon County Commissioners are elected in a nonpartisan election. For reference, however, their party registrations are listed.

References

*Paisley, Clifton. ''From Cotton to Quail'', University Press of Florida 1989. {{authority control Unincorporated communities in Leon County, Florida Tallahassee metropolitan area History of Leon County, Florida Unincorporated communities in Florida