Indigenous peoples occupied this area for thousands of years before European encounter. Around 1200, the large and complexMississippian culture had built earthwork mounds near Lake Jackson which survive today; they are preserved in theLake Jackson Archaeological State Park.[10]
The Spanish foundedSt. 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 inApalachee territory to supply food and labor for the colony and to convert Indigenous peoples toRoman Catholicism. The largest,Mission San Luis de Apalachee in Tallahassee, has been partially reconstructed by the state of Florida.[11] TheNarváez 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 ofAnhaica (in present-day Tallahassee) over the winter. Based on archaeological excavations, the Anhaica site was about 0.5 miles (800 m) east of the presentFlorida State Capitol. The De Soto encampment is often cited as the first place thatChristmas was celebrated in the continental United States.[12][13]
The nameTallahassee is aMuskogean word often translated as “old fields” or “old town”.[14] It was likely an expression used byCreek migrants fromGeorgia andAlabama 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 theApalachee. The Creek and later refugees who joined them developed as theSeminole people of Florida. TheTalimali Band of Apalachee Indians inLouisiana identify as present-day descendants of the Apalachee.[citation needed]
During theFirst Seminole War, GeneralAndrew Jackson conducted operations in and around Tallahassee against theSeminoles and other Native people. On November 12, 1817, after ChiefNeamathla of the village ofFowltown (just west of present-day Tallahassee) refused orders to relocate, U.S. forces entered the village, burned it, and drove off its inhabitants. The Indians retaliated, killing soldiers and civilians. Jackson reentered Florida in March 1818. According to Jackson’s adjutant, ColonelRobert Butler, they “advanced on the Indian village called Tallahasse [sic] [where] two of the enemy were made prisoner”.[15]
Florida became an American territory in September 1821, in accordance with theAdams-Onís Treaty of 1819.
The first session of theLegislative Council of the Territory of Florida met on July 22, 1822, at Pensacola, the former capital ofWest Florida. Members from St. Augustine, the former capital ofEast Florida, traveled 59 days by water to attend. The second session was in St. Augustine, and western delegates needed 28 days to travel perilously around the peninsula to reach St. Augustine. During this session, delegates decided to hold future meetings at a halfway point. Two appointed commissioners selected Tallahassee, then an Apalachee settlement (Anhaica) virtually abandoned afterAndrew Jackson burned it in 1818, as a halfway point. In 1824, the third legislative session met there in a crude log building serving as the capitol.[16]
From 1821 through 1845, during Florida's territorial period, the rough-hewn frontier capital gradually developed as a town. TheMarquis de Lafayette, French hero of the American Revolution, returned to the United States in 1824 for a tour. TheU.S. Congress voted to give him $200,000 (the same amount he had given the colonies in 1778), US citizenship, and theLafayette Land Grant, 36 square miles (93 km2) of land that today includes large portions of Tallahassee. In 1845, aGreek revival masonry structure was erected as the Capitol building in time for statehood. Now known as the "old Capitol", it stands in front of the high-rise Capitol building built in the 1970s.[17]
Tallahassee was in the heart of Florida'sCotton Belt—Leon County led the state in cotton production—and was the center of theslave trade in Florida.[18] During theAmerican Civil War, Tallahassee was the only Confederate state capital east of theMississippi River not captured by Union forces, and the only one not burned. A small engagement, theBattle of Natural Bridge, was fought south of the city on March 6, 1865, just a month before the war ended.
During the 19th century, the institutions that later developed intoFlorida State University were established in Tallahassee; it became a university town. These included theTallahassee Female Academy (founded 1843) and the Florida Institute (founded 1854). In 1851, the Florida legislature decreed two seminaries be built on either side of theSuwannee River,East Florida Seminary andWest Florida Seminary. In 1855, West Florida Seminary was transferred to the Florida Institute building (which had been established as an inducement for the state to place the seminary in Tallahassee). In 1858, the seminary absorbed the Tallahassee Female Academy and became coeducational.[19] Its main building was near the northwest corner of South Copeland and West Jefferson streets, approximately where FSU'sWestcott Building is today.
Tallahassee in 1885
In 1887, the Normal College for Colored Students, the ancestor of today'sFAMU, opened its doors. The legislature decided Tallahassee was the best location in Florida for a college serving African-American students; the state had segregated schools. Four years later, its name was changed toState Normal and Industrial College for Colored Students, to teach teachers for elementary school children and students in industrial skills.
After the Civil War, much of Florida's industry moved south and east, a trend that continues today. The end ofslavery and the rise of free labor reduced the profitability of the cotton and tobacco trades, at a time when world markets were also changing. The state's major industries shifted to citrus, lumber,naval stores, cattle ranching, and tourism. The latter was increasingly important by the late 19th century. In the post-Civil War period, many formerplantations in the Tallahassee area were purchased by wealthy northerners for use as winter hunting preserves. This included the hunting preserve of Henry L. Beadel, who bequeathed his land for the study of the effects of fire on wildlife habitat. Today the preserve is known as theTall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy, nationally recognized for its research intofire ecology and the use ofprescribed burning.
UntilWorld War II, Tallahassee remained a small Southern town with virtually the entire population living within one mile (1.6 km) of the Capitol.[citation needed] The main economic drivers were the colleges and state government, where politicians met to discuss spending money on grand public improvement projects to accommodate growth in places such as Miami and Tampa Bay, hundreds of miles away from the capital.
Tallahassee was also active in protest during thecivil rights era. TheTallahassee bus boycott was a citywide boycott in Tallahassee, Florida that sought to end racial segregation in the employment and seating arrangements of city buses. On May 26, 1956,Florida A&M University students Wilhelmina Jakes and Carrie Patterson were arrested by theTallahassee Police Department for "placing themselves in a position to incite a riot". Robert Saunders, representing theNAACP, and Rev.C. K. Steele began talks with city authorities while the local African-American community started boycotting the city's buses. The Inter-Civic Council ended the boycott on December 22, 1956. On January 7, 1957, the City Commission repealed the bus-franchise segregation clause because of the United States Supreme Court rulingBrowder v. Gayle (1956). In the 1960s, there was a movement to transfer the capital toOrlando, closer to the state's growing population centers. That movement was defeated; the 1970s saw a long-term commitment by the state to the capital city, with the construction of the new capitol complex and preservation of the old Florida State Capitol building.[citation needed]
In 1970, the Census Bureau reported the city's population as 74.0% white and 25.4% black.[20] In 1971, the city electedJames R. Ford to the 5-member City Commission, and he became the city's first African-American mayor in 1972 (commissioners rotated into the position serving a one-year term).
Bobby Bowden became the head coach ofFlorida State Seminoles football in 1976, and turned Tallahassee into a city dominated by college football. Bowden became very successful very quickly at Florida State. By his second year, Bowden had to deny rumors that he would leave for another job; the team went 9–2, compared to the four wins total in the three seasons before Bowden. During 34 years as head coach he had only one losing season–his first, in 1976.
In 1977, the 22-story high-riseCapitol building, designed by architectEdward Durell Stone, was completed. Since 2021, it has been the third-tallest state capitol building in the United States. In 1978, the Old Capitol, directly in front of the new Capitol, was scheduled for demolition, but state officials decided to keep it as a museum.[21] In 1986,Jack McLean served as mayor, the second African-American to hold the position.[22]
A view of both the historic and the current Florida State CapitolsHistoric Grove Plantation, known officially as theCall/Collins House at The Grove. Territorial Governor Richard Keith Call built this antebellum plantation housec. 1840.
Tallahassee has an area of 98.2 square miles (254.3 km2), of which 95.7 square miles (247.9 km2) is land and 2.5 square miles (6.5 km2), or 2.59%, is water.[25]
Tallahassee's terrain is hilly by Florida standards, being at the southern end of theRed Hills Region, just above theCody Scarp. The elevation varies from near sea level to just over 200 feet (61 m), with the state capitol on one of the highest hills in the city. The city includes two large lake basins,Lake Jackson andLake Lafayette, and borders the northern end of theApalachicola National Forest.
The flora and fauna are similar to those found in the mid-south and low country regions ofSouth Carolina andGeorgia. The palm trees are the more cold-hardy varieties like the state tree, theSabal palmetto. Pines, magnolias, hickories, and a variety of oaks are the dominant trees. TheSouthern Live Oak is perhaps the most emblematic of the city.
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),[26] 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 also home to somegated communities, including Golden Eagle, Ox Bottom, Lafayette Oaks, and The Preserve at San Luis; the Tallahassee Ranch Club is to the southeast of the city.
The first plan for the Capitol Center was the 1947 Taylor Plan, which consolidated several government buildings in one downtown area. In 1974, the Capitol Center Planning Commission for the City of Tallahassee, Florida responded to growth of its urban center with a conceptual plan for the expansion of its Capitol Center.Hisham Ashkouri, working forThe Architects' Collaborative, led the urban planning and design effort. Estimating growth and related development for approximately the next 25 years, the program projected the need for 2.3 million square feet (214,000 m2) of new government facilities in the city core, with 3,500 dwelling units, 100 acres (40 ha) of new public open space, retail and private office space, and other ancillary spaces. Community participation was an integral part of the design review, welcoming Tallahassee residents to provide input as well as citizens' groups and government agencies, resulting in the creation of six separate design alternatives.[citation needed]
The Tallahassee-Leon County Planning Department implements policies aimed at promoting compact growth and development, including the establishment and maintenance of an Urban Service Area. The intent of the Urban Service Area is to "have Tallahassee and Leon County grow in a responsible manner, with infrastructure provided economically and efficiently, and surrounding forest and agricultural lands protected from unwarranted and premature conversion to urban land use."[28] The result of compact growth policies has been a significant overall reduction in the Sprawl Index for Tallahassee between 2000 and 2010.[29] CityLab reported on this finding, stating "Tallahassee laps the field, at least as far as the Sprawl Index is concerned."[30]
Tallahassee experiences four seasons. Shown here are the autumn leaves along the sidewalks of Monroe Street in Downtown Tallahassee.
Tallahassee has ahumid subtropical climate (Köppen:Cfa), with long, tropical summers and short, mild winters, as well as warm to hot, drier springs and autumns. Tallahassee falls inUSDAhardiness zone 9a (20 to 25 °F; −7 to −4 °C).[32] Summer maximum temperatures are hotter than locations to the south on the Florida peninsula and it is one of the few cities in the state to occasionally record temperatures above 100 °F (37.8 °C); there are an average of 11.2 days per year that have temperatures at least that high.[33] The record high of 105 °F (41 °C) was set on June 15, 2011.[34]
Summer is characterized by brief intenseshowers andthunderstorms that form along the afternoonsea breeze from theGulf of Mexico. The daily mean temperature in July, the hottest month, is 82.9 °F (28.3 °C). Conversely, the winter is markedly cooler, with a January daily average temperature of 51.0 °F (10.6 °C).[31] There is an average of 34.6 nights with a minimum at or below freezing, and on average, the window for freezing temperatures is from November 22 thru March 16, allowing a growing season of 250 days.[31] With the data from the 1991–2020 normals, Tallahassee is in aUSDA 9a zone by a small margin, the coldest temperature of the year usually being about 20.2 °F (−6.6 °C). Temperature readings below 15 °F (−9 °C) are very rare, having last occurred on January 11, 2010.[31]
During theGreat Blizzard of 1899 the city reached −2 °F (−19 °C) on February 13, which remains Florida's only recorded subzero reading. The record cold daily maximum is 22 °F (−6 °C), set on the same day as the all-time record low. More recently, a 28 °F (−2 °C) daily maximum was recorded in 1985.[31] Conversely, the record warm daily minimum is 81 °F (27 °C) on July 15, 1980.[31]However, the city itself is considerably warmer than the airport where the National Weather Service records its data from, even though the National Weather Service does not record data from it. This is due to anurban heat island, which creates an average disparity of 5.8 °F (3.2 °C) and is especially pronounced during winter.[35][36][37]
Snow and ice are rare in Tallahassee, not occurring during most winters. Historically, snow flurries are recorded every three to four years, but measurable snowfall of 0.1 inches (0.3 cm) or more has only happened once in the 1991–2020 time period. Tallahassee has recorded a few very small accumulating snowfalls over the last 100 years; the greatest amount was 2.8 inches (7 cm) on February 13, 1958.[38] Tallahassee's other recorded measurable snowfalls were 1.0 inch (2.5 cm) on February 12–13, 1899, andDecember 22–23, 1989; 0.4 inches (1.0 cm) on March 28, 1955, and February 10, 1973; 0.2 inches (0.5 cm) on February 2, 1951; 0.1 inches (0.3 cm) onJanuary 3, 2018;[38][39][40] and 1.9 incheson January 21–22, 2025.[41][42]
Although severalhurricanes have brushed Tallahassee with their outer rain and wind bands, in recent years onlyHurricane Kate, in 1985, andHurricane Hermine, in 2016, have struck Tallahassee directly.Hurricane Michael passed 50 miles (80 km) to the west after making landfall nearMexico Beach, Florida in October 2018 as a Category 5 storm, resulting in 95% ofLeon County being without power.
Maclay Gardens Reflection Pool
The Big Bend area of North Florida sees severaltornadoes each year during the season, but they are generally weak, cause little structural damage, and rarely hit the city. On April 19, 2015, a tornado touched down in Tallahassee. The tornado was ratedEF1, and created a path as wide as 350 yards (320 m) for almost 5 miles (8 km) near Maclay Gardens.[43] Damage included numerous downed tree limbs and a car crushed by a falling tree. During extremely heavy rains, some low-lying parts of Tallahassee may flood, notably the Franklin Boulevard area adjacent to the downtown and the Killearn Lakes subdivision, outside the Tallahassee city limits, on the north side.
The most recent tornadoes to hit the city were EF2s on May 10, 2024. One of them hit downtown Tallahassee, being 1,400 yards (1,300 m) wide.
Tallahassee city, Florida – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
As of the2010 United States census, there were 181,376 people, 73,289 households, and 34,516 families residing in the city.[53]
In the 2010 census, 16.7% of which had children under 18 living in them. 27.7% were married couples living together, 14.4% had a female householder with no husband, and 53.7% were non-families. 34.1% of all households were made up of individuals living alone and 6.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.33. Children under the age of 5 were 4.9% of the population, persons under 18 were 16.7% and persons 65 years or older were 10.3%. The median age was 26 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.7 males.
For 2009–2013, the estimated median household income was $39,524, and the per capita income was $23,778. In 2010, the percentage of persons below the poverty level was estimated at 30.2%.[54]
As of 2000[update], 92.0% of residents spoke English as theirfirst language, while 4.1% spoke Spanish, 0.6% spoke French, and 0.6% spoke German as theirmother tongue. In total, 8.0% of the total population spoke languages other than English.[55]
Educationally, the population of Leon County is the most highly educated population in Florida[56] with 54.4% of the residents over the age of 25 holding a Bachelor's, Master's, professional or doctorate degree.[57] The Florida average is 37.4%[56] and the national average is 33.4%.[58]
Tallahassee has traditionally been aDemocratic city, but the party has been supported by different ethnic groups over time, with a major shift in the late 20th century. Leon County has voted Democratic in 24 of the past 29 presidential elections since 1904. But until the late 1960s, most African Americans weredisenfranchised from the political system, dating fromJim Crow laws passed by Democrats in Florida (and in all other Southern states) at the turn of the century. At that time, most African Americans were affiliated with theRepublican Party, and their disenfranchisement resulted in that party being non-competitive in the region for decades. Subsequently, these demographic groups traded party alignments in the 1960s and 1970s.[citation needed]
Since passage of theVoting Rights Act of 1965 and enforcement of constitutional rights for African Americans, voters in Tallahassee have elected black mayors and black state representatives.[59]: 97 It has become a city in theSouthern U.S. that is known forprogressive activism.[citation needed] This is likely due to the fact that Tallahassee and Leon County havethe highest level of college graduates in the state.[citation needed] In addition, in the realignment of party politics since the late 20th century, most of the African-American population in the city now support Democratic Party candidates.[60][61]
As of December 2, 2018, there were 112,572 Democrats, 58,083 Republicans, and 44,007 voters who were independent or had other affiliations among the 214,662 voters inLeon County.[62]
Leon County's voter turnout percentage has consistently ranked among the highest of Florida's 67 counties, with a record-setting 86% turnout in the November 2008 general election. The county voted forBarack Obama in the presidential election.[63]
Tallahassee has a form of government with an electedmayor of Tallahassee, elected commissioners, and an at-will employed city manager, city departments, and staff.
The city commissioners as of November 9, 2020 were:[64]
TheUnited States Postal Service operates post offices in Tallahassee. The Tallahassee Main Post Office is at 2800 South Adams Street.[68] Other post offices in the city limits include Centerville Station,[69] Leon Station,[70] Park Avenue Station,[71] and Westside Station.[72]
TheNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration maintains a National Weather Service in Tallahassee. Their coverage-warning area includes the eastern Florida Panhandle and adjacent Gulf of Mexico waters, the north-central Florida peninsula, and parts of southeastern Alabama and southwestern Georgia.
The Naval and Marine Corps Reserve Center (NMCRC) is at 2910 Roberts Avenue host theUnited States Navy Reserve Navy Operational Support Center Tallahassee (NOSC Tallahassee) and theUnited States Marine Corps Reserve 2nd Platoon, Company E, Anti-Terrorism Battalion and 3rd Platoon, Company E, Anti-Terrorism Battalion.
Voters of Leon County have gone to thepolls four times to vote onconsolidation of Tallahassee and Leon County governments into one jurisdiction combining police and other city services with already shared (consolidated)Tallahassee Fire Department andLeon County Emergency Medical Services. Tallahassee's city limits would increase from 103.1 square miles (267 km2) to 702 square miles (1,820 km2). Roughly 36 percent of Leon County's 265,714 residents live outside the Tallahassee city limits.
The proponents of consolidation have stated the new jurisdiction would attract business by its size. Merging governments would cut government waste, duplication of services, etc. However, Professor Richard Feiock of the Department of Public Administration ofKorea University and theAskew School of Public Administration and Policy ofFlorida State University states that no discernible relationship exists between consolidation and the local economy.[74]
The former flag of Tallahassee was vaguely similar to theflag of Florida, a whitesaltire on a blue field, with the city's coat of arms, featuring the cupola of theold capitol building, at the center. The flag is an homage to the Scottish and Ulster-Scots Presbyterian heritage of the original founders of the city, most of whom were settlers from North Carolina whose ancestors had either come to America directly from Scotland, or were Presbyterians of Scottish descent fromCounty Down andCounty Antrim in what has since becomeNorthern Ireland.[75] The current flag incorporates a stylized 5-point star and the city name on a white background.[76]
Lower School students atMaclay School celebrating Grandparents Day in 2008
Tallahassee anchors theLeon County School District. As of the 2009 school year Leon County Schools had an estimated 32,796 students, 2209 teachers and 2100 administrative and support personnel. The superintendent of schools is Rocky Hanna. Leon County public school enrollment continues to grow steadily (up approximately 1% per year since the 1990–91 school year). The dropout rate for grades 9–12 improved to 2.2% in the 2007–2008 school year, the third time in the past four years the dropout rate has been below 3%.
To gauge performance the State of Florida rates all public schools according to student achievement on the state-sponsored Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT). Seventy-nine percent of Leon County Public Schools received an A or B grade in the 2008–2009 school year. The overall district grade assigned to the Leon County Schools is "A". Students in the Leon County School District continued to score favorably in comparison to Florida and national averages in the SAT and ACT student assessment tests. The Leon County School District has consistently scored at or above the average for districts statewide in total ACT and SAT mean composite scores.
Governor's Charter Academy (GCA) (K–8) – Established in August 2012.[77]
School of Arts and Sciences (SAS) (K–8) – Established in 1999[78]
Tallahassee School of Math and Science (TSMS) (K–8)[79] – It was previously known as Stars Middle School and only served middle school. In 2014 it received a new charter, adopted its current name, and expanded to elementary grades.[80]
Tallahassee Classical School - Established in 2017.[81]
Private schools
Atlantis Academy (K–12) – Established in 1976.[82]
Betton Hills Preparatory School (Pre-K2/3, Pre-K4, VPK, K-2)[83]
Florida Governor Rick Scott and the state legislature designated Florida State University as one of two "preeminent" state universities in the spring of 2013 among the twelve universities of the State University System of Florida.[95][96][97]
Founded on October 3, 1887,Florida A&M University (commonly referred to asFAMU) is a public,historically black university andland-grant university that is part of the State University System of Florida and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.[100] FAMU's main campus comprises 156 buildings spread over 422 acres (1.7 km2) atop the highest geographic hill in Tallahassee. The university also has several satellite campuses, including a site in Orlando where its College of Law is located and sites in Miami, Jacksonville and Tampa for its pharmacy program. Florida A&M University offers 54 bachelor's degrees and 29 master's degrees.[101] The university has 12 schools and colleges and one institute.
FAMU has 11 doctoral programs which include 10 PhD programs: chemical engineering, civil engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, industrial engineering, biomedical engineering, physics, pharmaceutical sciences, educational leadership, and environmental sciences. The top undergraduate programs are architecture, journalism, computer information sciences, and psychology. FAMU's top graduate programs include pharmaceutical sciences, public health, physical therapy, engineering, physics, master's of applied social sciences (especially history and public administration), business and sociology.
TSC offersBachelor's of Science,Associate of Arts,Associate of Science, andAssociate of Applied Sciences degrees. In 2013, the school (then known as Tallahassee Community College) was listed first in the nation in graduating students with A.A. degrees.[103] TSC is also the No. 1 transfer school in the nation to Florida State University and Florida A&M University. As of Fall 2015, TSC reported 38,017 students.[104] In 2024, Tallahassee Community College was approved to be renamed Tallahassee State College, and the name change took effect on July 1, 2024.[105]
In partnership with Florida State University, and Florida A&M University Tallahassee State College offers theTSC2FSU, andTSC2FAMU program. This program provides guaranteed admission into Florida State University and Florida A&M University for TSC Associate in Arts degree graduates.[106][107]
Railroad Square is a popular spot for students and residents of Tallahassee, especially on the first Friday of every month when all the galleries are open to the public.
Faheem Rashad Najm, better known asT-Pain, was born and raised in Tallahassee. He is known for popularizing the creative use of theAuto-Tunepitch correction effect.[111]
Emo music groupMayday Parade originated in Tallahassee and several members still live there.[111]
A Tallahassee Police Department patrol carA Leon County EMS vehicle
Established in 1826, theTallahassee Police Department once claimed to be the oldest police department in the Southern United States and the second-oldest in the U.S., preceded only by thePhiladelphia Police Department (established in 1758). TheBoston Police Department was established in 1838 and larger East Coast cities followed with New York City and Baltimore in 1845. However, this is proven incorrect. Pensacola, Florida, for example, had a municipal police force as early as 1821.[117]
The Tallahassee Growth Management Building Inspection Division is responsible for issuing permits and performing inspections of public and private buildings in the city limits. These duties include the enforcement of the Florida Building Codes and the Florida Fire Protection Codes. These standards are present to protect life and property. The Tallahassee Building Department is one of 13 Accredited Building Departments in the United States.[118]
Freight service is provided by theFlorida Gulf & Atlantic Railroad, which acquired most of theCSX main line from Pensacola to Jacksonville on June 1, 2019. FG&A also purchased the CSX branch from Tallahassee toAttapulgus, Georgia, connecting with the CSX Montgomery-Savannah main line atBainbridge, Georgia. FG&A's headquarters office is in Tallahassee.[121]
The streamlinedGulf Wind coach andPullman passenger train, operated jointly by theL&N andSeaboard railroads, served Tallahassee from 1949 to 1971, when the newly formedAmtrak cancelled the train.
Amtrak'sSunset Limited served Tallahassee from April 1993 until service east of New Orleans was suspended in August 2005, followingHurricane Katrina, which caused extensive damage to CSX lines from Louisiana to Florida. The service has never been reinstated, and as of mid-2019 had a "next to zero chance" of being revived by Amtrak.[124] In 2021, Amtrak announced plans restore service as early as 2022 along part of the route from New Orleans to Alabama, but not into Florida.[125] The Tallahassee and Pensacola metropolitan areas are the largest in the state without passenger rail service.[citation needed]
Interstate 10 runs east–west across the north side of the city. Tallahassee is served by five exits including: Exit 192 (U.S. 90), Exit 196 (Capital Circle NW), Exit 199 (U.S. 27/Monroe St.), Exit 203 (U.S. 319/Thomasville Road and Capital Circle NE), and Exit 209 (U.S. 90/Mahan Dr.)
U.S. Route 27 enters the city from the northwest before turning south and entering downtown. This portion of U.S. 27 is known locally as Monroe Street. In front of the historic state capitol building, U.S. 27 turns east and follows Apalachee Parkway out of the city.
U.S. Route 90 runs east–west through Tallahassee. It is known locally as Tennessee Street west of Magnolia Drive and Mahan Drive east of Magnolia.
U.S. Route 319 runs north–south along the east side of the city using Thomasville Road, Capital Circle NE, Capital Circle SE, and Crawfordville Road.
^Goñi-Lessan, Ana (January 5, 2024)."Lafayette's Tallahassee and the French influence on Florida's capital city".Tallahassee Democrat. Archived fromthe original on March 22, 2025. RetrievedMarch 22, 2025.Frenchtown, the oldest historically Black community in Florida, was originally an area settled by French laborers that Lafayette wooed over from Europe with promises of building a large plantation.
^Eisenberg, Daniel (1986)."In Tallahassee"(PDF).Journal of Hispanic Philology. Vol. 10, no. 2. pp. 97–101. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on October 6, 2014.
^Meginniss, Benjamin A.; Winthrop, Francis B.; Ames, Henrietta O.; Belcher, Burton E.; Paret, Blanche; Holliday, Roderick M.; Crawford, William B.; Belcher, Irving J. (1902)."The Argo of the Florida State College". The Franklin Printing & Publishing Co., Atlanta.Archived from the original on January 18, 2016. RetrievedApril 26, 2013.
^"Florida State University".Classifications. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. 2013. Archived fromthe original on June 29, 2018. RetrievedApril 26, 2013.
^Mean monthly maxima and minima (i.e. the highest and lowest temperature readings during an entire month or year) calculated based on data at said location from 1991 to 2020.
Eisenberg, Daniel (1986)."In Tallahassee"(PDF).Journal of Hispanic Philology. Vol. 10, no. 2. pp. 97–101. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on October 6, 2014.
Hare, Julianne.Tallahassee: a capital city history. Arcadia Publishing. 2002
Tebeau, Charlton, W.A History of Florida. University of Miami Press. Coral Gables. 1971
Williams, John Lee.Journal of an Expedition to the Interior of West Florida October–November 1823. Manuscript on file at the State Library of Florida, Florida Collection. Tallahassee.
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