An Early Mill on the Chipola River

While doing research some time ago, I stumbled across the following while reading through old copies of the Pensacola Gazette. This newspaper served all of West Florida during the 1820s and 1830s, and the following was found on page one of the issue from February 6, 1830:

AN ACT

To authorize Joseph H. Howell to build a Mill on the Chipola River.

Be it enacted by the Governor and Legislative Council of the Territory of Florida, That Joseph H. Howell, be, and is hereby authorized, and vested with all the rights and privileges of building a set of mills, gins, or any other machine on the Chipola River in Jackson County, where the same runs through section twenty three, in Township four, range ten, north and west, and to use the waters of said river for the use of said mills, or machine, in any way he may think proper, Provided, he shall in no case, obstruct the passage and free navigation of said river.

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That this act shall be in force from and after its passage.

Passed, November 10th, 1829.

The location provided in the act was on the Chipola River just south of Marianna and near the point where Spring Creek flows into the river. The river was then used for barge traffic, which explains why the Legislative Council was clear in its intent that Howell not obstruct the channel in any way.

The Chipola Settlement in 1828

The name "Chipola Settlement" actually applied to a fairly large area of Jackson County that included the Waddell Spring, Baker Creek and Webbville areas. These communities were located a few miles northwest of Marianna.

One of the first settled areas of the county, this region realized quick prosperity through the cultivation of sugar cane and cotton, as well as food crops, and grew rapidly as settlers flooded into Jackson County following its creation in 1823.

The following item appeared in the Pensacola Gazette, an early Florida newspaper, on August 5, 1828:

A letter from Chipola, Florida, dated 16th July says, “lands have risen at least 300 per cent in price, and are daily advancing – the tide of emigration is flowing in most rapidly, and the country still proves uninterruptedly healthy; the Physicians to avoid starvation are removing away: Our crops two or three weeks ago were as fine as I ever saw; the most gratifying prospects were presented to the planters; since then however we have had a drought which prevails and produces much alarm; it is a critical time, for the corn is now in milk. The cane crops are not yet injured; they are said by persons acquainted with its growth to be as fine as ever seen; indeed nothing can surpass the luxuriance of their appearance.”