Cotton was king in the Apalachicola River Valley in Northwest Florida before the Civil War.
The Apalachicola River Valley is lined with good soil, and the deep river to the Gulf was a lifeline to the planters. The five-county region developed into a virtual barony of plantations that were as rich as those of the Old South. The port town of Apalachicola at the river’s mouth, for a time, exported the most cotton in the country.
History and archaeology are partners in the study of the long-forgotten Apalachicola River plantations. An example is the large Orman House residence built in 1838. It is a Greek Revival mansion made of lumber cut in New York, sitting on a high bluff of the river. There also was an icehouse, slave quarters, and barns.
Archaeologists use ground-penetrating radar, airplane-based lasers, and drones with cameras and sensors to study the large plantations. This data identify small structures, slave quarters, canals, and roadways now covered with thick forests. Remains of the steamboats that carried the cotton to Apalachicola and supplies to the plantations have also been found on the floor of the river.
Unearthing Florida is a project of WUWF Public Media, the Florida Public Archaeology Network(FPAN), and its founder, Dr. Judith Bense, since 1998. FPAN's Michael Thomin is a contributor to the program. WUWF's Sandra Averhart is the executive producer.
