Sunny Hill Plantation was a large hunting plantation in northern

Leon County, Florida Leon County () is a County (United States), county in the Florida Panhandle, Panhandle of the U.S. state of Florida. It was named after the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population w ...

Plantation

Sunny Hill Plantation was established by Lewis S. Thompson in 1913, and was created from the former W. G. Ponder Plantation. Just before

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Thompson purchased land to the north swelling the plantation to around . Adjacent plantations: *

Foshalee Plantation Foshalee Plantation was a large quail hunting plantation located in northern Leon County, Florida, Leon County, Florida, United States. History First called Incochee, it was purchased in 1824 by Hezekiah and Ann Graham Ponder. Hezekiah and Ann ar ...

to the west * Horseshoe Plantation to the southwest * Norias Plantation to the east

Owners

Lewis S. Thompson

Thompson was a resident of

Red Bank, New Jersey Red Bank is a borough in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Incorporated in 1908, the community is on the Navesink River, the area's original transportation route to the ocean and other ports. Red Bank is in the New York metro ...

. His father was William P. Thompson, an oil man from West Virginia had become

treasurer A treasurer is a person responsible for the financial operations of a government, business, or other organization. Government The treasury of a country is the department responsible for the country's economy, finance and revenue. The treasure ...

Standard Oil Standard Oil Company was a Trust (business), corporate trust in the petroleum industry that existed from 1882 to 1911. The origins of the trust lay in the operations of the Standard Oil of Ohio, Standard Oil Company (Ohio), which had been founde ...

under

John D. Rockefeller John Davison Rockefeller Sr. (July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He was one of the List of richest Americans in history, wealthiest Americans of all time and one of the richest people in modern hist ...

. Lewis was a prominent Republican in New Jersey and was a

delegate Delegate or delegates may refer to: * Delegate, New South Wales, a town in Australia * Delegate (CLI), a computer programming technique * Delegate (American politics), a representative in any of various political organizations * Delegate (United S ...

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the Republican Party in the United States. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal o ...

from Brookdale, Essex County, N.J. Thompson was also a member in good standing with the

Boone and Crockett Club The Boone and Crockett Club is an American nonprofit organization that advocates fair chase hunting in support of habitat conservation. The club is North America's oldest wildlife and habitat conservation organization, founded in the United S ...

founded by

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

. Having inherited much of his fortune, Thompson enjoyed outdoor activities of

marksmanship A marksman is a person who is skilled in precision shooting. In modern military usage this typically refers to the use of projectile weapons such as an accurized scoped long gun such as designated marksman rifle (or a sniper rifle) to shoot ...

, hunting, fishing, and raising dogs. Lewis Thompson died in 1936.

Geraldine L. Thompson

Lewis' wife, Geraldine Livingston Thompson co-owned Brookdale Farm, a

thoroughbred horse The Thoroughbred is a horse breed developed for horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are considered " ...

training facility in

Lincroft, New Jersey Lincroft is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Middletown Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States.Thompson Park in Monmouth County. She hosted

Ava Alice Muriel Astor Ava Alice Muriel Astor (July 7, 1902 – July 19, 1956) was an American heiress, socialite, and member of the Astor family. She was the daughter of John Jacob Astor IV and Ava Lowle Willing, and sister of Vincent Astor and half-sister of John Ja ...

as a guest. Astor was the daughter of

John Jacob Astor IV John Jacob Astor IV (July 13, 1864 – April 15, 1912) was an American business magnate, real estate developer, investor, writer, lieutenant colonel in the Spanish–American War, and a prominent member of the Astor family. He was among the most ...

, who died during the sinking of RMS ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British ocean liner that sank in the early hours of 15 April 1912 as a result of striking an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United States. Of the estimated 2,224 passengers a ...

'' in 1912. Thompson, active in Republican politics, was a member of the

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is the primary committee of the Republican Party of the United States. Its members are chosen by the state delegations at the national convention every four years. It is responsible for developing and pr ...

from

Monmouth County, New Jersey Monmouth County () is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is bordered to its west by Mercer and Middlesex Counties, to its south by Ocean County, to its east by the Atlantic Ocean, and to its north ...

, and an alternate New Jersey delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1940, 1948, and 1952. She died September 9, 1967, and was buried at St. James' Churchyard,

Hyde Park, New York Hyde Park is a town in Dutchess County, New York, United States, bordering the Hudson River north of Poughkeepsie. Within the town are the hamlets of Hyde Park, East Park, Staatsburg, and Haviland. Hyde Park is known as the hometown of Fra ...

2nd owner

In 1937, Sunny Hill was purchased by

Walter E. Edge Walter Evans Edge (November 20, 1873October 29, 1956) was an American diplomat and Republican politician who served as the 36th governor of New Jersey, from 1917 to 1919 and again from 1944 to 1947, during both World War I and World War II. Edge ...

who had sold his portion of Norias Plantation the year before. The transaction required 19 pages of deeds and records. Edge spent more time at Sunny Hill after completing his 2nd term as

Governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The ...

from 1944-1947. In 1966, Mr. Camilla Edge kept a herd of 100 Black

Angus Angus may refer to: *Angus, Scotland, a council area of Scotland, and formerly a province, sheriffdom, county and district of Scotland * Angus, Canada, a community in Essa, Ontario Animals * Angus cattle, various breeds of beef cattle Media * ...

cattle. Out of , out were set aside for growing

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 ...

, 14 for

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

, and 27 for

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. John W. Mettler, Jr. of

New Brunswick, New Jersey New Brunswick is a city (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Somerset County, New Jersey Somerset County is a county located in the north-central part of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 census, the county was the state's 13th-most-populous county,Loveridge Plantation and Welaunee Plantation.

Current

Today, Sunny Hill is listed as part of the Audubon Society's Important Bird Areas Of Florida as a conservation easement along with

Tall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy Tall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy is a research and learning facility located in northern Leon County, Florida, just off County Road 12 (Florida), County Road 12 on the north side of Lake Iamonia, Florida, Lake Iamonia. Tall Timbe ...

, Horseshoe Plantation,

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 ...

, Foshalee Plantation, and Woodfield Springs Plantation.Audubon Society, IBA, Florida
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References

{{Coord, 30.6326, -84.0663, display=inline Plantations in Leon County, Florida 1913 establishments in Florida