Tallahassee

Sister cities

• Sint Maarten
• Krasnodar
• Konongo
• Ramat HaSharon
• Sligo

History

Indigenous peoples occupied this area for thousands of years before European encounter. Around 1200, the large and complex Mississippian culture had built earthwork mounds near Lake Jackson which survive today; they are preserved in the Lake Jackson Archaeological State Park. The Spanish founded St. Augustine in 1565, establishing the oldest continuously occupied European-established settlement in the continental United States. In the 17th century, they developed a network of missions in Apalachee territory to supply food and labor for the colony and to convert Indigenous peoples to Roman Catholicism. The largest, Mission San Luis de Apalachee in Tallahassee, has been partially reconstructed by the state of Florida. The Narváez expedition encountered the Apalachee people but did not reach the site of Tallahassee. In 1539–40, Hernando de Soto's expedition occupied the Apalachee town of Anhaica (in present-day Tallahassee) over the winter. Based on archaeological excavations, the Anhaica site was about east of the present Florida State Capitol. The De Soto encampment is often cited as the first place that Christmas was celebrated in the continental United States. The name Tallahassee is a Muskogean word often translated as "old fields" or "old town". It was likely an expression used by Creek migrants from Georgia and Alabama who moved into the region in the late 18th and early 19th centuries as U.S. settlement expanded into their homelands, where they found large areas of cleared land previously occupied by the Apalachee. The Creek and later refugees who joined them developed as the Seminole people of Florida. The Talimali Band of Apalachee Indians in Louisiana identify as present-day descendants of the Apalachee. During the First Seminole War, General Andrew Jackson…

Geography

The approximate coordinates for the City of Tallahassee are . The city has an area of , of which is land and , or 2.59%, is water. Tallahassee's terrain is hilly by Florida standards, being at the southern end of the Red Hills Region, just above the Cody Scarp. The elevation varies from near sea level to just over , with the state capitol on one of the highest hills in the city. The city includes two large lake basins, Lake Jackson and Lake Lafayette, and borders the northern end of the Apalachicola National Forest. The flora and fauna are similar to those found in the mid-south and low country regions of South Carolina and Georgia. The palm trees are the more cold-hardy varieties like the state tree, the Sabal palmetto. Pines, magnolias, hickories, and a variety of oaks are the dominant trees. The Southern Live Oak is perhaps the most emblematic of the city. *Crawfordville *Havana *Lamont *Lloyd *Midway *Monticello *Quincy Tallahassee has many neighborhoods inside the city limits. Some of the most known and defined include All Saints, Apalachee Ridge, Betton Hills, Buck Lake, Callen, Frenchtown (the oldest historically black neighborhood in the state), Killearn Estates, Killearn Lakes Plantation, Lafayette Park, Levy Park, Los Robles, Midtown, Holly Hills, Jake Gaither/University Park, Indian Head Acres, Myers Park, Smokey Hollow, SouthWood, Seminole Manor and Woodland Drives. Tallahassee is notable for its canopy roads. The residents appreciate them and they offer a tranquil alternative to the normal city expanse of asphalt, cement and signs. Tallahassee has nine "officially designated" canopy roads that contribute greatly to the southern charm of the city. {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! class="unsortable"|Rank ! Name ! Street Address ! Height () !…

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  30,329
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  25,525
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  22,184
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  20,639
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  18,905
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  16,864
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  15,447
• Northern Mockingbird

  Mimus polyglottos (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  15,423

Largest nearby schools

• LEON HIGH SCHOOL
  High · TALLAHASSEE · 1,935 students · 23.3:1 ratio
• LAWTON CHILES HIGH SCHOOL
  High · TALLAHASSEE · 1,900 students · 24.4:1 ratio
• FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL
  Other · TALLAHASSEE · 1,875 students
• LINCOLN HIGH SCHOOL
  High · TALLAHASSEE · 1,861 students · 25.1:1 ratio
• JAMES RICKARDS HIGH SCHOOL
  High · TALLAHASSEE · 1,581 students · 24.7:1 ratio
• AMOS P. GODBY HIGH SCHOOL
  High · TALLAHASSEE · 1,444 students · 22.6:1 ratio
• WILLIAM J MONTFORD III MIDDLE SCHOOL
  Middle · TALLAHASSEE · 921 students · 21.9:1 ratio
• ROBERTS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
  Elementary · TALLAHASSEE · 870 students · 15.3:1 ratio