Gamble Plantation Historic State Park

Ellenton, Florida: In 1843, General Robert Gamble claimed 160 acres along the Manatee River as part of the Armed Occupation Act following the Second Seminole War. As part of the agreement, settlers were provided 160 acres of wilderness in exchange for living on the land for a minimum of five years. Gamble took the deal and began building his sugar plantation.

It took almost six years to complete the Antebellum mansion. It is a two story mansion that was built out of tabby. The mansion was built to withstand the elements of the time period; Indian attacks and the Florida weather. There were no exterior staircases, the only way to access the second floor was through an interior stair. The back portion of the house, the children’s room was accessible by a rope ladder in which the boys would drop down as they needed to get out and pull back up when they were back in their rooms. The mansion even included an early alarm type systems as it was surrounded by sand and each night the slaves raked the sand smooth so in the morning they could tell if anyone was sneaking around the house.

The home was built with thick walls made out of tabby. Tabby was a cement type material that was made using burnt oyster shells. The thickness of the walls served a duel purpose, to help protect the home from the violent wind of tropical systems and to help insulate the home from the heart. It also contained a cistern system for drinking water. All rain water funneled into a cistern in which it was filtered through limestone walls and purified for drinking water.

Over the years, the plantation grew to 3,500 acres and was a prominent sugar plantation. However the late 1850’s proved to be to much for Gamble. A fire destroyed the mill, natural disasters damaged the crop and imported sugar drove down the price of local sugar causing Gamble to run up a $190,000 debt. In 1859, Robert Gamble was forced to sell the plantation.

Confederate blockaded runner Captain Archibald McNeill moved into the mansion after Gamble left. In May of 1865, the mansion became the refuge of the Confederate Secretary of State Judah P. Benjamin. Following the fall of the Confederacy at the conclusion of th Civil War, congress ordered all Confederate cabinet members to be arrested for treason. Benjamin held out at the mansion to avoid capture by Federal troops. Benjamin later sailed to the Bahamas and ultimately to England.

In 1873 the property changed hands once again. This time General George Patton purchased the plantation for just $3,000 in back taxes. Patton was unable to care for the property and later subdivided and sold the property.

The plantation and remaining 16 acres was purchased by the Daughters of the Confederacy in 1925 and deeded to the State of Florida. The Gamble Plantation and Patton House were restored to their original time period. The plantation was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970 and now functions as a museum and park in the Florida State Parks system.

For more photos please visit my Gamble Plantation photo page.