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Events of Levy County
Here is some Levy County historical tidbits in a time line format.
- 12 February 1819 The Adams-Onis Treaty was
formally signed today. Spain ceded Florida to the United States.
(FHS)
- 6 December 1822 Eberhard
Faber, the pencil manufacturer whose purchase and clear cutting of hundred of
thousands of acres of cedar both fueled the economy of Cedar Key and ultimately led to its economic
demise, was born in Germany.
(FHS)
- 14 August 1842
Today Colonel William Jenkins Worth proclaimed
the end of the Second Seminole War
from his headquarters at Cedar Key. Although Colonel Worth officially ended the war,
the actual fighting slowly died out over the next few months. [For more information,
see John K. Mahon, History of the Second Seminole War 1835-1842 (Gainesville:
University Press of Florida, 1967 and 1985).]
(FHS)
- March 10, 1845
Levy County was established as
the 26th county, from a portion of Alachua County by the Florida Legislature.
The county is named in honor of
David Levy Yulee, prominent politician, statesman, and railroad
entrepreneur. Levy owned a 5,000-acre plantation on the Homosassa River,
where he grew sugar can and produced sugar. Levy was the first United States
Senator to represent the new state of Florida. County Seat:
Bronson
(FHS)
- 1 December 1845 David Levy Yulee and James D.
Westcott, Jr., took their seats in the United States Senate today as the first senators
from Florida. Yulee was from St. Augustine, while Westcott was from Tallahassee. David
Levy Yulee won the long term of office, which ended on March 3, 1851, while
Westcott’s term expired on March 3, 1849. The decision was made by lot. Yulee later
served in the Senate of the Confederate States of America and Westcott became the Attorney
General of Florida in 1868. Yulee, who had previously served as the delegate from Florida
in the 27th, 28th and 29th Congress, was a large land owner and entrepreneur. He was the
force behind the first cross-peninsula railroad that ran from Fernandina on the Atlantic
Coast to Cedar Key on the Gulf of Mexico.
The railroad opened in 1860, but was almost immediately shut down with the outbreak of the
War between the States.
(FHS)
- 8 January 1853 David Levy Yulee and his financial partners incorporated the Florida
Railroad Company today. The railroad was planned to run between Fernandina and Cedar Key.
(FHS)
- 1 January 1861 Florida’s United States Senators David Levy Yulee and Stephen R.
Mallory, along with U.S. Representative George S. Hawkins, formally withdrew from the
United States Congress today. This followed Florida’s secession from the Union.
(FHS)
- January 14, 1861
The
United States Senators from Florida,
David Levy Yulee and
Stephen
Russell
Mallory,
were officially informed today of Florida's secession from the Union.
(FHS)
- 28 January 1861 Former U. S. Senator David Levy Yulee informed former senator Stephen
Mallory that the Federal warship, U.S.S. Brooklyn, was bound for Fort Pickens with two
companies of soldiers aboard. Mallory immediately informed friends in the Union capital
that Confederate forces would not attack as long as conditions did not change. When this
information was passed along to outgoing President James Buchanan, he ordered the troops
be kept aboard the ship and not landed.
(FHS)
- 1 March 1861 Construction of the first cross-peninsula railroad from Fernandina to
Cedar Key was completed today. David Levy Yulee, United States Senator from Florida, was
the driving force behind this railroad. Although used very little because of the outbreak
of the War between the States in April, the railroad made Cedar Key a major urban site in
the immediate postwar years. (See Charles Fishburne, History of Cedar Key)
(FHS)
- 20 July 1861 The
1st Florida Cavalry Regiment, under the command of Colonel G. W. M. Davis, was assembled
at Camp Mary David, about six miles south of Tallahassee. The regiment consisted of
10 companies drawn from Columbia, Nassau, Suwanee, Leon, Levy, Duval and Alachua counties.
(FHS)
- 9 January 1862 Elias Yulee, brother of David levy Yulee, has been nominated by
Confederate President Jefferson Davis for a commission as major in the Confederate Army.
(FHS)
- 16 January 1862 Union sailors and soldiers took possession of Sea Horse Key and Cedar
key today. Although there were no casualties, Union forces destroyed the railroad depot
and wharf, several box cars loaded with supplies, several ships and boats, and a
considerable supply of guns and ammunition. Capture of Cedar Key effectively ended the
importance of the newly constructed railroad from Fernandina to this Gulf town.
(FHS)
- 21 January 1862 The Confederate schooner Olive Branch bound from Cedar Key to Nassau
with a cargo of turpentine was captured by the U.S.S. Ethan Allen.
(FHS)
- 16 June 1862 The
U.S.S. Somerset captured the British blockade runner, Curlew, off the coast near Cedar
Key. (FHS)
- 22 May 1863 Boats
from the U.S.S. Fort Henry captured the sloop Isabella in Wacasassa Bay.
(FHS)
- 10 Jun 1863 The
U.S.S. Fort Henry captured 250 bushels of corn belonging to Confederate Senator David Levy
Yulee today on a barge off the mouth of the Withlacoochee River.
(FHS)
- 3 July 1863 Boats from
the U.S.S. Fort Henry, under the command of Lieutenant McCauley, captured the sloop,
Emma, north of Sea Horse Key [Cedar Key] with a cargo of tar and Confederate mail.
(FHS)
- 19 July 1863 Federal
soldiers from the U.S.S. Fort Henry, anchored at Cedar Key, captured twenty-two bales of
cotton on an expedition up the Waccasassa River.
(FHS)
- 20 July 1863 Union
and Confederate forces skirmished along the mouth of the Waccasassa River. Two Union
soldiers were killed. (FHS)
- 26 October 1863 The U.S.S. Two Sisters returned to Cedar Key today after a cruise
along the Gulf Coast.
(FHS)
- 7 December 1863 The commander of the U.S.S. Sagamore received orders to proceed to
the mouth of the Suwanee River and to capture two river pilots stationed there. The pilots
were suspected of having piloted three Confederate steamers carrying contraband up the
river at the end of their voyages to Havana.
(FHS)
- 20 December 1863 The Union steamer Fox attacked a Confederate steamer aground at the
mouth of the Suwannee River. The crew abandoned the ship after the Fox fired howitzers and
dispatched an armed boarding party. It is thought the Confederate steamer is the Little
Lilly. The Federals, unable to operate the engine, set fire to the vessel.
(FHS)
- 24 December 1863 The U.S.S. Fox, with Acting Master Asbury in command, today seized
the British blockade runner, Edward, off the mouth of the Suwannee River after a two-hour
chase. The Edward was captured after trying to run down the smaller Union ship. She was
carrying a cargo of lead and salt.
(FHS)
- 13 January 1864 Boat crews from the U.S.S. Two Sisters, under the command of Acting
Master Thomas Chatfield, captured the schooner William off the Suwannee River today. The
William carried a cargo of salt, bagging, and rope.
(FHS)
- January 29, 1864
Governor John Milton informed General
Pierre Beauregard, commanding the Department of South Carolina, Georgia, and
Florida that Confederate army deserters were organizing themselves into bands
in the state. The areas of the strongest groups were in Lafayette, Washington,
Walton, Taylor and Levy counties in West Florida. The deserters were also
operating in strong bands from Tampa to Fort Myers in Southwest Florida.
(FHS)
- 16 June 1864 Federal
troops from the schooner J.S. Chambers, dispatched up the Waccasassa River, returned to
their ship today with 12 bags of cotton.
(FHS)
- 6 July 1864 A
Federal column of black and white soldiers advanced from Cedar Key on the Gulf Coast into
the interior of the peninsula. After the column had advanced for a few miles, it was
attacked by Confederate cavalry and retreated to Cedar Key. The Federal force
suffered eight wounded. Confederate losses were unknown.
(FHS)
- 15 July 1864 Confederate
forces under Captain McElbey of the 5th Florida Cavalry were located at Green's Plantation
on the road to Baldwin. Federal forces were advancing down the road. A small
skirmish was fought at Little Trout Creek. The Confederate forces retreated toward
Baldwin, while the Federal forces moved to the vicinity of Otter Creek.
(FHS)
- 19 July 1864 Confederate
units reoccupied their lines near Cedar Key.
(FHS)
- 20 July 1864 An expedition of 400 men from the 2nd U. S.
Colored Infantry and the 2nd Florida Cavalry (U.S.) moved from Cedar Keys to St. Andrews
Bay on a mission into the interior. The campaign continued until July 29, with
tremendous destruction of property and the confiscation of 115 slaves.
(FHS)
- 21 July 1864 Confederate
forces burned and destroyed two trestles on the Cedar Keys Railroad about five miles south
of Baldwin. (FHS)
- 21 January 1865 The U.S.S. Honeysuckle arrived in Cedar key today with the British
schooner Augusta in tow. The British vessel was taken to key West and claimed as a war
prize by Acting Ensign Charles N. Hall and his crew.
(FHS)
- 12 May 1865 David
Levy Yulee was appointed Florida Commissioner and dispatched to Washington to confer with
President Andrew Johnson about conditions in Florida. Yulee was appointed by Acting
Governor Abraham Kurkindolle Allison, who had assumed the office following Governor John
Milton's suicide on April 1, 1865.
(FHS)
- 22 May 1865 Part of
the baggage of Confederate President Jefferson Davis arrived at David Levy Yulee's Cotton
Wood plantation near Archer. Davis was attempting to flee the North American
continent after the surrender of Confederate armies in Virginia and North Carolina.
For years, rumors persisted that a considerable part of the Confederate treasury was
buried on Yulee's property. If so, it has never been found.
(FHS)
- 25 May 1865 David
Levy Yulee, former United States and Confederate States senator, was arrested today by
Federal authorities in Gainesville.
(FHS)
- 2 June 1897 The
Town of Williston was incorporated today.
(FHS)
- 5 June 1913 The
City of Cedar Key was re-incorporated
today. (FHS)
- 7 June 1929 The
City of Chiefland was incorporated today
by the Florida Legislature.
(FHS)
Credits
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