#71 Ghost Town of Webbville (100 Great Things about Jackson County, Florida)

Looking down Union Road from the site of Webbville

Webbville, a ghost town and the lost county seat of Jackson County, is #71 on our list of 100 Great Things about Jackson County, Florida.

Please click here to see the complete list as it is unveiled.

When Marianna was still just a series of wooded hills, a small town was planted in the wilderness about four miles north of present-day Cottondale. Named Webbville after James S. Webb, an early settler and merchant, the community was the business hub for an area of rich lands called the "Chipola Settlement."

Other early settlers of the Webbville area included William S. Pope, Charles F. Stewart, Thomas Baltzell, Ebenezer J. Bower, Thomas Russ, William J. Watson, Joseph Russ and Lackland McIntosh Stone. These men and their families figured prominently in the histories of Marianna, Sneads, St. Joseph and Apalachicola.

Colonel Stone's well

At some point soon after his arrival during the mid-1820s, Colonel Stone had his slaves begin to dig a well on a hillside east of Webbville. They unexpectedly tapped into a vast network of caves and became so afraid of falling into an unknown abyss that they refused to do more work at the site. Stone had to look elsewhere for water, but his well still remains and is the only known intact trace of the Webbville settlement.

Webbville became the first official town in Jackson County when it was incorporated by the Florida Territorial Legislative Council in January 1827. The move was part of an effort to secure a permanent designation as county seat. Settlers were flooding into Jackson County by the thousands and there was a growing need for a permanent county seat.

Early map showing Webbville, Marianna & Campbellton

Robert and Anna Maria Beveridge, who founded Marianna nine months later in September 1827, had other ideas. They and their investors offered to donate land for a town square and to build a new courthouse and jail at no cost to the taxpayers. The offer ignited a political war between Webbville and Marianna, with the future of the county hanging in the balance.

Marianna scored the first blow by obtaining the designation of County Seat from the Territorial Legislature. Webbville struck back by taking the fight to the U.S. Congress, where a House Committee gave the title to Webbville even though the town stood on 16th Section lands reserved for school purposes. The town dealt with this issue by founding the Webbville Academy, Jackson County's first school. The institution was incorporated by the Legislative Council on December 22, 1827.

19th century ceramic fragment from site of Webbville

Marianna turned back to the Legislative Council and although the territorial legislators could not overrule the U.S. Congress, they did have the power to fine any county official who did not conduct business from the new courthouse in Marianna. Money spoke louder than words and the sheriff, county judge and other local leaders shifted to Marianna, even though Webbville remained the legal county seat of Jackson County.

The battle was far from over. Webbville struck back on February 9, 1832, when the Legislative Council voted to carve off the entire eastern half of Jackson County away as part of a new county. Named Fayette County after the Marquis de Lafayette, the new entity included all of the land between the Chipola and Chattahoochee/Apalachciola Rivers. In Jackson County, the towns of Bascom, Grand Ridge, Greenwood, Malone and Sneads all stand on lands that were once part of Fayette County.  The move was intended to remove Marianna's most vocal supporters in time for a referendum on which town would become the permanent county seat.

Site of Webbville

The move failed, however, because most of the residents of the new Fayette County had no desire to be part of a separate county. They appealed to the Legislative Council for relief and the act establishing Fayette County was repeal. Its lands returned to their original jurisdiction.

Webbville ultimately lost its fight with Marianna, but without really losing it. In the eyes of the U.S. Congress, the town that no longer exists is still the legal county seat of Jackson County. The decision of the Territorial Council to fine public officials that refused to conduct business from the courthouse in Marianna had its desired impact. The courthouse remains there today on the square donated by Robert and Anna Maria Beveridge.

Piece of a broken wine bottle exposed by erosion

As for Webbville, it slowly faded away. The town no longer existed by the time of the War Between the States (or Civil War), but its name was preserved by the plantation of Colonel W.D. Barnes which stood on the site. Union troops raided Barnes' Webbville plantation on their way to the Battle of Marianna, destroying hay, stockpiled corn and other foodstuffs. They also killed livestock, poultry and burnt barns.

The site of Webbville is now just a place where Union Road crosses a hilltop as it leads from State Highway 73 north to County Road 162. To find it, turn from Highway 73 onto Union Road and drive to the top of the hill that you see ahead of you. At that spot you will be sitting in what was the main business district of the Town of Webbville.

Mission San Nicolas interpretive panel
near site of Webbville.

Be sure to stop and read the Interpretive Panel for Mission San Nicolas at the intersection of Highway 73 and Union Road. It is Tour Stop #10 on the new Jackson County Spanish Heritage Trail, a 150 mile driving tour of eleven Spanish colonial sites in Jackson County.

To learn more about Webbville and the early history of Jackson County, please consider my book:

(Book) The History Of Jackson County, Florida: The Early Years

(Kindle E-Book) The History of Jackson County, Florida: The Early Years

It is also available at The Vintage Depot in the restored L&N Train Depot at 2867 Caledonia Street, Marianna, Florida. They are open Monday-Saturday, so drop in for a visit!

#80 The Old Spanish Trail (100 Great Things about Jackson County, Florida)

1823 map showing part of original Old Spanish Trail
Road from Mt Vernon Ferry (Chattahoochee) to near Marianna is the original.

The historic Old Spanish Trail - sometimes called El Camino Real or the Mission Road - is #80 on our list of 100 Great Things about Jackson County, Florida.

Please click here to see the full list as it is unveiled.

Jackson County is blessed with a series of roads that could rightfully be called "Old Spanish Trails." There is the old Pensacola-St. Augustine Road, which followed the approximate route of today's State Highway 2. Early maps also show a road running up the west side of the Apalachicola and Chattahoochee Rivers along the route of today's River Road (Highway 271). And, of course, today's U.S. 90 is often called the Old Spanish Trail. There also is a county road connecting Sneads, Grand Ridge, Cypress and Marianna named the Old Spanish Trail.

So which of these was the original or "real" Old Spanish Trail?  The answer might surprise you because it is "none of the above."

Apalachicola River at Chattahoochee Landing
The Old Spanish Trail crossed the river here south of the bridge.

River Road and the Pensacola-St. Augustine Road were both Spanish trails, but the former went north and south while the latter replaced the earlier "Old Spanish Trail" of legend. U.S. 90 was built in the early 20th century and commemorates the original Old Spanish Trail but for the most part does not follow its route. Local records. meanwhile, show that county road called "Old Spanish Trail" was built during the Reconstruction era along the telegraph line that connected Marianna with Chattahoochee and Tallahassee. Its name commemorates the earlier Spanish road, but it does not follow the same route.

Where the Old Spanish Trail crossed the Apalachicola

The "real" Old Spanish Trail can still be traced today, although much of the route cannot be followed by car.

According to the accounts of early Spanish missionaries, soldiers and explorers, they crossed the Apalachicola River between today's Chattahoochee and Sneads by dugout canoe. Their route came down a natural gully cut into the steep bluffs to today's Chattahoochee Landing Park. From there they paddled across to the Jackson County shore at a point just south of today's U.S. 90 Bridge.

The original trail led west through the vast floodplain swamps along a still visible trace below Victory Bridge to the high bluffs south of today's Apalachee Correctional Institution. From the point it intersected with high ground, it turned almost due north and followed the ridge up across U.S. 90 to today's West Bank Overlook Park at the western end of the Jim Woodruff Dam.

Lake Seminole from the site of Mission San Carlos

The Spanish mission of San Carlos (the second of that name) stood on the hilltop here in 1680-1696. At the time of its existence it was the westernmost outpost of the King of Spain in all of Florida. Consisting of a church, a home for its priest and a large village of Catholic Chacato Indians, Mission San Carlos was destroyed by Creek Indian raiders in 1696.

Mission San Carlos is now a stop on the new Jackson County Spanish Heritage Trail, a 150 mile driving tour that links eleven Spanish colonial sites. A guidebook is available at the historic Russ House and Visitor Center in Marianna and an informational kiosk will be erected soon at West Bank Overlook Park.

Section of original Old Spanish Trail along Reddoch Road

From Mission San Carlos, the trail wound west across the site of present-day Sneads. It ran slightly north of but parallel to U.S. 90 until it reached what is now Providence Church Road. This modern county road follows the route of the "real" Old Spanish Trail northwest to the point where it intersects with State Highway 69 north of Grand Ridge.

From that intersection, the route of the original trail is followed by Reddoch Road (Highway 164-A), a paved county road that leads northwest from Highway 69 to its intersection with Blue Springs Road (Highway 164).

Providence Church Road and Reddoch Road combine to form the single longest stretch of the original Old Spanish Trail that can be driven by car in Jackson County today. The route leads through the beautiful rolling hills north of Grand Ridge and past numerous ponds and small lakes, some of which were described by Spanish explorers.

Old Spanish Trail kiosk at Blue Springs
The trace of the original road is in the background.

Although Reddoch Road intersects with Blue Springs Road today, the original trail continued straight west into Blue Springs Recreational Area where a portion of it can still be seen today.

On the left just past the booth where visitors to the park pay their entrance fees an old road can be seen deeply cut into the hillside overlooking the spring. This is a rare surviving segment of the actual Old Spanish Trail and is now Tour Stop #2 on the Jackson County Spanish Heritage Trail. A new interpretive kiosk is in place there.

Tour Stop #1 on the driving tour is Blue Springs and another new kiosk has been built overlooking the historic spring.

The Spanish knew Blue Springs by the name "Calistoble." The name is probably a Chacato (not to be confused with Choctaw) Indian word, but its meaning has been lost. They believed the spring to be the main source of the Chipola River, which they labeled as the "Calistoble" on early maps.

Andrew Jackson marker at the Natural Bridge of the Chipola
Florida Caverns State Park

From Blue Springs the trail angled again to the northwest to today's Florida Caverns State Park where it crossed the Chipola River by way of its Natural Bridge. A portion of the road to Blue Hole Spring follows the original route across the Natural Bridge.

The Spanish referred to the vast floodplain swamp of the Chipola River as the "great forest of Chipola." Tradition that the name comes from the Choctaw word for "sweet water" is not correct, as the Indians who lived in the area during the 1600s were Chacato and not Choctaw. Most of the Chacato later merged with the Alabama-Coushatta people who then lived among the Upper Creeks.

The main group of this band now lives in Texas, although some descendants reside in Oklahoma. The exact meaning of the word in their language is not known.

Blue Hole Spring at Florida Caverns State Park

From the Natural Bridge, the Old Spanish Trail followed today's park road to Blue Hole Spring. From there it continued west along a route that can no longer be driven but can still be seen in places.

The original trail passed a large cave several miles northwest of Marianna where the Spanish mission of San Nicolas de Tolentino stood in 1674-1675. This cave has not been identified by archaeologists and could be any one of several near today's intersection of Highway 73 and Union Road.

The Catholic church at San Nicolas was the site of the first Christmas service in what is now Jackson County. Established in 1674 at the Chacato village of Atanchia, the mission only survived for about one year. Spanish accounts indicate it stood at a cave large enough to hold 200 people and inside of which a natural spring or karst window produced a stream of water that flowed from the "living rock."

Jackson County Spanish Heritage Trail kiosk in Cottondale

From the long lost mission site, the trail angled to the southwest and crossed at or near what is now Cottondale before continuing on to pass out of the county west of Alford at today's Oak Hill.

A military expedition followed this section of the Old Spanish Trail in 1677 on its way to attack a fort held by Chisca (Yuchi) Indians somewhere in present-day Walton County. The history of that raid is interpreted by Tour Stop #11 on the Jackson County Spanish Heritage Trail. A new informational kiosk for the stop stands next to U.S. 231 in the parking lot of Cottondale City Hall.

An important part of American history, the Old Spanish Trail is commemorated by U.S. 90 today. Its real path is an important part of the new Jackson County Spanish Heritage Trail. You can learn more about that driving tour at http://visitjacksoncountyfla.com/heritage/spanish-heritage-trail.

Be sure to pick up a free guide booklet at the historic Russ House in Marianna and enjoy doing some exploring of your own!

Searching for Mission San Nicolas - Jackson County, Florida

Historic Rock Cave - Site of Mission San Nicolas?

My previous post on the site of Mission San Carlos at Sneads (see Mission San Carlos)generated a lot of email and interest, so I thought you might enjoy learning about another likely Spanish mission site in Jackson County.

Of the three Spanish settlements thought to have been located in Jackson County, Mission San Nicolas was the oldest. Located in the secondary town of the Chacato Indians, San Nicolas was established by Franciscan friars in 1674, more than 336 years ago. It was the location of the first Christian church and the first known European home between Pensacola Bay and the Apalachicola River.

Trace of the real "Old Spanish Trail"

The Chacato were one of the most enigmatic tribes in Florida history. Also called the Chatot or Chacto and often incorrectly confused with the Choctaw tribe, they arrived in western Jackson County late in the Mississippian era (A.D. 900 - A.D. 1500). During the prehistoric era their settlement was concentrated around the Waddell Mill Pond site, a fortified village and mound group between Marianna and Campbellton. By the 1600s, however, they had abandoned that site and dispersed to three large and a number of smaller villages scattered through western Jackson County and eastern Washington County.

The largest of their towns was located somewhere in the vicinity of Falling Waters State Park in northeastern Washington County, although the site has not been located to date. The secondary town was west of the Natural Bridge of the Chipola River on the old trail leading from Blue Spring across the Natural Bridge to a forks between today's towns of Cottondale and Campbellton. The third largest Chacato town was near Campbellton.

Historic Rock Cave Entrance

When they were first encountered by the Spanish, the Chacato were extremely warlike. In 1639, when the Governor of Florida negotiated a peace treaty between them and the Apalachee and other tribes living in the Big Bend region, he noted the accomplishment was extraordinary because the Chacato had "never had peace" with any other tribe. It would take another 35 years, however, before the Spanish finally ventured to send missionaries west to the Chacato province.

The first mission, San Nicolas, was established at the secondary Chacato town in 1674 by an expedition that included soldiers, missionaries and Christian Apalachee Indians. Fray Rodrigo de la Barreda became the village friar and was left there alone to live among the Indians when the men making up the main expedition returned to Mission San Luis at what is now Tallahassee.

Historic Rock Cave

The mission, according to Barreda and other Spanish writers, was located at a cave so large it could hold 200 people. Inside the cave, he wrote, was a spring of water that flowed from "the living rock." The friar's home was located on the bluff above the cave while the church was located nearby. Surrounding this small group of structures was the Chacato village itself.

Mission San Nicolas was temporarily successful and an estimated 100 of the village's inhabitants converted to Christianity. The success, however, did not last. Less than one year after the mission was established, a portion of the Chacato rose in revolt against the Franciscans. One of their chiefs was outraged because a friar, probably Barreda, had told him that to be a good Christian he must give up his multiple wives and live only with the first woman he had married.

Fray Rodrigo de la Barreda was wounded in the head by a blow from a stone axe but managed to escape to safety at Mission Santa Cruz de Sabacola in what is now Seminole County, Georgia. Mission San Nicolas was destroyed.

The exact site of Mission San Nicolas has never been identified, but there is a strong probability that it was located at the historic Arch Cave northwest of Marianna. Of all the caves along the route of the old trail followed by the Spanish, it is the only one that closely matches the descriptions given by the Spanish writers. Not only is it large enough to hold a large number of people, it holds a natural spring that flows from one of the walls. The cave is protected and is on private property. The photographs seen here were taken with the permission of the owner.

To learn more about the early Spanish settlements of Jackson County, please consider my book: The History Of Jackson County, Florida: The Early Years. ($19.95)

It is also available as an instant download for your Amazon Kindle reading device or free Kindle software: The History of Jackson County, Florida: The Early Years. ($9.95)

Mission San Carlos - One of the Oldest Settlements in Jackson County

West Bank Overlook near Sneads

Noted for its beautiful views of Lake Seminole, the West Bank Overlook near Sneads also holds the distinction of being one of the most significant historic sites in Jackson County. It was here during the 1680s and 1690s that the Spanish maintained the mission of San Carlos de Chacatos.

A mission was a religious center where Franciscan friars worked to convert Native Americans - in this case Chacato Indians - to Christianity.

View of Jim Woodruff Dam from the Overlook

Mission San Carlos was established in around 1680 to serve a group of Christian Chacatos that had relocated to the hilltop near Sneads from their original homes west of the Chipola River in Jackson and Washington County. A 1675 rebellion involving part of the tribe had destroyed the original Mission San Carlos, thought to have been located near Falling Waters State Park in Washington County. A sister mission, San Nicolas, was destroyed in what is now Jackson County at the same time.

Both of these original missions had been dedicated in 1674, but lasted for less than one year. Spanish soldiers and allied Apalachee warriors retaliated against the Chatot by invading their territory and destroying their towns and fields.

Lake Seminole

Not all of the Chacato had been involved in the rebellion, however, as several hundred members of the tribe had accepted Christianity through the teachings of the Franciscans. Opting to remain close to the Spanish, they relocated to the confluence of the Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers (today's Lake Seminole), where they built a new town on the high ground where the West Bank Overlook can be seen today. The site was then directly across the Chattahoochee River from Mission Santa Cruz de Sabacola, which stood in what is now Seminole County, Georgia.

In around 1680 the Franciscans responded to the calls of the Chacato and established a new Mission San Carlos at the site near Sneads. It would remain for the entire time of its existence the westernmost establishment on the Florida mission chain and the most outlying post of the King of Spain in the Florida colony.

Part of the Mission San Carlos Site

This status gave Mission San Carlos a unique place in history. In 1686, for example, Marcos Delgado left the mission on a noted overland expedition to establish an alliance with the Upper Creeks of Alabama. Seven years later in 1693, Governor Don Laureano de Torres y Ayala rested briefly at San Carlos while making the first known overland crossing of the Florida Panhandle by Europeans. Both expeditions also stopped at another well-known Jackson County landmark, Blue Springs.

Another view of the Mission Site

Mission San Carlos, tragically, did not survive the decade of the 1690s. Attacked by war parties of Creek Indians from Alabama and Georgia, the mission was destroyed. Many of its people were slaughtered and others carried away into slavery to be sold to the English in South Carolina. The church was desecrated and its religious objects either destroyed or carried away as booty.

The site of the mission was rediscovered in 1948 by Florida archaeologist Ripley P. Bullen. Working on the hilltop at the west end of the then under construction Jim Woodruff Dam, Bullen found pieces of Spanish ceramics and other artificacts indicating the presence of the mission site. The West Bank Overlook now crowns the hill where Bullen conducted his work.

There are no interpretive markers at the site noting it as the location of the long forgotten mission, but perhaps the future will bring about an effort to place one there.  To learn more about Mission San Carlos and other Spanish sites in Jackson County, please consider my book: The History Of Jackson County, Florida: The Early Years.

It is also available for Amazon Kindle by clicking here: The History of Jackson County, Florida: The Early Years