Editing Center Hill, Florida (section)

==History==

===Early inhabitants===
By 1800, [[Black Seminoles]] and "[[maroons]]", or fugitive [[Slavery in the United States|slaves]], had settled in the present-day '''City of Center Hill''', which was initially called "''Abraham's Old Town''", near the [[Wahoo, Florida|Wahoo Swamp]]. Maroons who fought for [[United Kingdom|England]] joined the Black Seminoles after the [[runaway slaves]] fled to Florida, a free territory under Spanish rule, to avoid remaining in slavery following the [[American Revolution]]. Both Black Seminoles and maroons lived with the [[Seminoles]] in a feudal-like relationship; the Black Seminoles paid the Seminoles with a percentage of their crops in exchange for their freedom.<ref name=settled1800>{{cite web |title=A Haven for Slaves |work=Florida Stories |publisher=Florida Humanities Council |date=2012 |url=http://www.flahum.org/Localization/FHC_EN/Assets/Images/2012_HomeEdits/FLORIDASTORY-AHavenforSlaves.pdf |access-date=Mar 8, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140512213300/http://www.flahum.org/Localization/FHC_EN/Assets/Images/2012_HomeEdits/FLORIDASTORY-AHavenforSlaves.pdf |archive-date=2014-05-12 }}</ref> The Black Seminoles settled in the Center Hill area in 1813 and named it "''Peliklakaha''".<ref name="JR OS">{{cite web |last=Robison |first=James |title=Abraham Guided Many Black Seminoles |work=[[Orlando Sentinel]] |date=Dec 22, 2002 |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2002/12/22/abraham-guided-many-black-seminoles/ |access-date=Mar 7, 2014}}</ref> Accompanying them was Seminole chief [[Micanopy]], who made Peliklakaha his residence<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Boyd |first1= Mark F. |last2=Harris |first2=Joseph |date=July 1951 |title=The Seminole War: Its Background and Onset |journal=The Florida Historical Quarterly |location=[[Cocoa, Florida]] |publisher=The Florida Historical Society |publication-date=July 1951 |volume=30 |issue=1 |page=12 |jstor=30138833 }}</ref> after the death of Payne.{{sfn|Covington|1993|p=33}}

The town had about 100 residents. They came as runaway slaves from [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]].<ref name="UF Student">{{cite news |last=Mattson |first=Marcia |title=Student's Work Reveals a Picture of the Area's Black Seminoles |newspaper=Florida Times-Union |location=[[Jacksonville, Florida]] |date=Nov 4, 2001 |url=http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/110401/dss_7722491.html |access-date=Apr 25, 2014}}</ref> Others were of African descent, specifically from the [[Kingdom of Kongo|Kongo region]],<ref>{{cite web |last=Landers |first=Jane |title=Slavery in Colonial North America |work=Race, Development and Social Inequality Lectures |publisher=[[Vanderbilt University]] |date=Sep 26, 2006 |url=http://www.erudito.fea.usp.br/PortalFEA/Repositorio/1181/Documentos/leitura_1_1_2.pdf |access-date=May 6, 2014}}</ref> and some Seminoles, including one of Micanopy's wives, lived in Peliklakaha. The town's layout was influenced by slave quarters, Seminole villages, and African villages.<ref name="UF Student" /> The residents lived in buildings constructed from daub, thatch, and lumber. Peliklakaha participated in regional trade with the Seminoles,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Weik |first=Terrance |date=Jun 2008 |title=Mexico's ''Cimarron'' Heritage and Archaeological Record |url=http://www.diaspora.illinois.edu/news0608/news0608-3.pdf |journal=The African Diaspora Archaeology Network Newsletter |edition=Jun 2008 |publisher=[[University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign]] |page=2 |access-date=Apr 25, 2014}}</ref> black hunters travelling to [[South Florida]], and white travelers as the village was located at the center of several well-travelled Native American trails.<ref name="Trade Networks">{{cite book |last=Carrier |first=Toni |title=Trade and Plunder Networks in the Second Seminole War in Florida, 1835-1842 |publisher=[[University of South Florida]] |series=Master's Thesis |date=Apr 14, 2005 |location=[[Tampa, Florida]] |pages=31 |url=http://etd.fcla.edu/SF/SFE0001020/Carrier-Toni-thesis.pdf |access-date=May 6, 2014 }}{{Dead link|date=June 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

The United States and Florida governments noticed the area's fertility. In 1823, while informing the Seminoles about the [[Treaty of Moultrie Creek|meeting at Moultrie Creek]], Horatio S. Dexter, an envoy sent by Florida territorial governor [[William P. Duval]], discovered that the Black Seminoles grew rice, peanuts, and corn.<ref>{{cite book |last=Richards Weisman |first=Brent |title=Like Beads on a String: A Culture History of the Seminole Indians in Northern Peninsular Florida |publisher=University of Alabama Press |year=1989 |location=[[Tuscaloosa, Alabama]] |pages=[https://archive.org/details/likebeadsonstrin0000weis/page/68 68] |url=https://archive.org/details/likebeadsonstrin0000weis/page/68 |isbn=0-8173-0411-8 |url-access=subscription |via= }}</ref> In 1826, [[United States Army]] General [[George McCall]] visited Peliklakaha<ref name="JR OS"/> and noticed that their farms were located on what General McCall called "the finest land".<ref name="JR OS" />

===Second Seminole War===

{{See also|Dade Massacre|Second Seminole War}}

Whites called the town "Abraham's Old Town", after Abraham,<ref name="CH Dig">{{cite news |last=Erickson |first=Stephanie |title=Student Delves Into Buried Past |newspaper=[[Orlando Sentinel]] |date=Aug 25, 2001 |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2001/08/25/student-delves-into-buried-past/ |access-date=Mar 7, 2014}}</ref> a former slave who had been given his freedom by the British<ref name="Common">{{cite news |last=Robison |first=Jim |title=Common Foe United Blacks, Seminoles | newspaper=[[Orlando Sentinel]] |date=Sep 16, 2001 |url= https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2001/09/16/common-foe-united-blacks-seminoles/ |access-date=Mar 7, 2014}}</ref> and who served as a recruiter and an interpreter for the Seminoles.<ref name="JR OS"/> After hearing that [[Francis L. Dade]] and his men were to cross through the territory, Abraham anticipated an attack on Peliklakaha and convinced Micanopy to move Seminole soldiers to the Fort King Road.<ref>{{cite web |last=Rivers |first=Larry Eugene |title=Chapter 10: Interaction Between Blacks and Indians |work=Slavery in Florida: Territorial Days to Emancipation |publisher=University Press of Florida |date=2000 |url=http://africanaheritage.com/RiverSlaveryinFLexcerpt.asp |access-date=Feb 25, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140509190704/http://africanaheritage.com/RiverSlaveryinFLexcerpt.asp |archive-date=2014-05-09 }}</ref> Abraham left the village after [[Dade's Massacre]] on December 28, 1835.<ref name="JR OS"/> A short time later in 1836, General [[Winfield Scott]] moved General [[Abraham Eustis]]' troops to the Peliklakaha area to destroy the Seminoles.{{sfn |Hatch|2012|p=59}} General Eustis and his troops burned Peliklakaha;<ref name="JR OS"/> no Seminoles were killed as Peliklakaha's population fled to the Wahoo Swamp before Eustis’ forces arrived.{{sfn |Hatch|2012|p=146}} General Eustis would later commission a painting depicting the burning of Peliklakaha,<ref name="CH Dig"/> which later was hung in the [[Library of Congress]].<ref name="UF Student"/>

On April 19, 1842, Colonel [[William J. Worth]] attacked [[Halleck Tustenuggee]] at Peliklakaha. During the battle, Halleck Tustenuggee and his warriors constructed a log barricade. United States Army soldiers attacked the front of the barricade while dragoons attacked from the back. Halleck Tustenuggee and his warriors retreated, and the United States Army burned the camp. The battle left one soldier dead and four wounded on the United States side and one soldier killed and one captured on the Seminole side. A few days later, Halleck Tustenuggee, two of his wives, and two of his children voluntarily surrendered to Worth at [[Coleman, Florida|Warm Springs]]. On August 14, 1842, Worth declared the [[Second Seminole War]] over.{{sfn |Hatch|2012|p=254}}

===Settlement by whites===
In the late 1830s and early 1840s, the Mobley and Beville families settled in the area.<ref name="Newcomers Guide">{{cite web |author=Daily Commercial Staff |title=Center Hill has shifted from agriculture to industry |work=Newcomers Guide |publisher=Daily Commercial |date=Jun 25, 2006 |url=http://www.dailycommercialonline.com/specialsections/newcomers06dc/ |format=PDF |access-date=Apr 10, 2014}}</ref>  Either the town's postmaster Thomas W. Spicer
<ref name="CH FLOC">{{cite web |author=Florida League of Cities |title=City of Center Hill |work=Membership Directory |publisher=Florida League of Cities |year=2014 |url=http://www.floridaleagueofcities.com/Directory.aspx?iID=167 |access-date=Apr 10, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140512231720/http://www.floridaleagueofcities.com/Directory.aspx?iID=167 |archive-date=2014-05-12 }}</ref> or Carrie Lovell named the town "Center Hill".<ref name="Newcomers Guide"/> Spicer thought that the town was the hub of activity.<ref name="CH FLOC"/> Lovell named the town after its location of being on a hill in the center of the county.<ref name="Newcomers Guide"/> In 1925, the City of Center Hill was officially incorporated as a municipality.<ref name=CenHilInc/><ref name=CenterHillInc/>

===Agricultural heyday===
According to Broward Mill, the past president of the Sumter County Historical Society, Center Hill was known for its [[string bean]] production in the early part of the 20th century.<ref name="Soil Survey">{{cite book |author=United States Department of Agriculture |author-link=United States Department of Agriculture |title=Soil Survey of Sumter County, Florida |publisher=[[Soil Conservation Service]] |year=1988 |location=[[Washington, D.C.]] |pages=2, 3 |url=http://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00025741/00001/ |access-date=Apr 20, 2014}}</ref> In 1931, Center Hill shipped green beans, green peas, and lima beans to [[Baltimore, Maryland|Baltimore]], [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]], [[New York City, New York|New York City]], [[Chicago, Illinois|Chicago]], and [[Detroit, Michigan|Detroit]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Florida Department of Agriculture |author-link=Florida Department of Agriculture |title=From Field to Market With Florida Vegetables and Citrus Fruits |publisher= [[Florida Department of Agriculture]] |date=May 1, 1931 |location=[[Tallahassee, Florida]] |pages=8, 38, 100 |url=http://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00002928/00001/8?search=center+hill |access-date=Apr 10, 2014}}</ref> Beginning in the mid-1930s, Center Hill's soil fertility declined. Local bean farmers blamed a decrease in the water table. They believed that the creation of the Jumper Creek Drainage District, which the local circuit court formed in 1922 to reclaim about 24,600 acres by draining water from Jumper Creek into Jumper Lake and the [[Withlacoochee River (Florida)|Withlacoochee River]], deprived them of water and forced them to irrigate large fields. By 1975, bean production was virtually nonexistent, and the population decreased from a peak of 1,500 people to 37 in 1970.<ref>{{cite book |last=Rose |first=G. Norman |title=Snap Bean Production in Florida: A Historic Data Series |publisher=[[University of Florida]] |edition=Economics Report 74 |date=Dec 1975 |location=[[Gainesville, Florida]] |pages=22–24, 62 |url=http://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00027733/00001/36j?search=center+hill |access-date=Apr 10, 2014}}</ref> In 1988, area farmers still sent their [[bell peppers]], cucumbers, [[Squash (vegetable)|squash]], tomatoes, and watermelons to Center Hill for packing and shipping.<ref name="Soil Survey"/>

===1990s===
In the 1990s, Center Hill gained a reputation of being a speed trap. The town received a [[Bill Clinton|Clinton]] administration community policing grant of $167,000 (USD) in order to hire ten full and part-time police officers.  From the receipt of the grant to 1997, residents complained about the officers issuing traffic tickets, especially for speeding. In November 1997, four police officers, including Police Chief Kendall Alsobrook, left the police force, and the department's staff was reduced to one full-time officer.<ref>{{cite news |agency=Associated Press |title=Notorious Center Hill speed trap no longer exists |newspaper=Ocala Star-Banner |location=[[Ocala, Florida]] |pages=3B |date=Dec 26, 1997 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1356&dat=19971226&id=69ZPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=LwgEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5415,5063531 |access-date=May 8, 2014}}</ref>

===Peliklakaha's rediscovery===
In 1998, archaeologists from the [[University of Florida]] in [[Gainesville, Florida]] began the first excavation of a Black Seminole village<ref name="UF Dig">{{cite web |last=Keen |first=Cathy |title=Florida researchers launch first excavation of Black Seminole town |work=News |publisher=[[University of Florida]] |date=Jun 14, 2001 |url=http://news.ufl.edu/2001/06/14/black-seminole/ |access-date=Mar 7, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140512213512/http://news.ufl.edu/2001/06/14/black-seminole/ |archive-date=2014-05-12 }}</ref> in a pasture about two miles from Center Hill. The researchers hoped to determine the town's social structure<ref name="CH Dig"/> and the former residents' lifestyle.<ref name="UF Dig"/> The investigators found dozens of artifacts, including iron pieces, stoneware, glass beads, nails, and pottery.<ref name="CH Dig"/> Historians believe that over 100 Black Seminoles lived in Peliklakaha,<ref name="Common"/> the largest known Black Seminole village.<ref name="CH Dig"/> Historians also believe that Peliklakaha was rebuilt after Abraham was among the first Seminoles and Black Seminoles to be transferred to a reservation in the west.<ref name="Common"/>

===2000s===
On July 31, 2001, a 500-pound (227-kilogram) [[Siberian tiger]] named "Tie" fatally attacked Vincent Lowe, a worker at the Savage Kingdom [[exotic animal]] park who was attempting to earn state certification to work with the cats,<ref name="SPT">{{cite news |last1=Malernee |first1=Jamie |last2=Brassfield |first2=Mike |title=Tiger kills ranch worker |work=[[Tampa Bay Times|St. Petersburg Times]] |location=[[Saint Petersburg, Florida]] |date=1 Aug 2001 |access-date=16 April 2015 |url=http://www.sptimes.com/News/080101/State/Tiger_kills_ranch_wor.shtml}}</ref> while Lowe was repairing the cage. The tiger burst through his cage and pounced on Lowe before Lowe could fire his pistol at the tiger. Park owner Robert Baudy shot the cat. The incident was the second one in park history.<ref name="SK">{{cite news |title=Tiger fatally mauls worker at animal park |work=The Index-Journal |location=[[Greenwood, South Carolina]] |publisher=The Index-Journal |page=6 |date=1 Aug 2001 |access-date=17 Mar 2015 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2007406// |via=Newspapers.com}}{{Open access}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Houston |first=Simon |title=I Spent Pounds 100,000 to Turn Myself into a Tiger; Daft Dennis Is Big Game Fur a Laugh |work=[[The Daily Record (Scotland)|The Daily Record]] |location=[[Glasgow, Scotland]] |date=2 Aug 2001 |access-date= |url=https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-76923578/i-spent-pounds-100-000-to-turn-myself-into-a-tiger |url-access= |via= |archive-date=2 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402100509/https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-76923578/i-spent-pounds-100-000-to-turn-myself-into-a-tiger |url-status=dead }}</ref> The first was in March 1997, when another Siberian tiger escaped from its cage and mauled a worker before being killed by members of the Sumter County Sheriff's Department.<ref name="SK"/><ref>{{cite book |last=Green |first=Alan |title=Animal Underworld: Inside America's Black Market for Rare and Exotic Species |location=[[New York City, New York]] |publisher=PublicAffairs |year=1999 |isbn=1-891620-28-2 |access-date=17 Mar 2015 |url=https://archive.org/details/animalunderworld0000gree |url-access=registration |via= }}</ref> In February 1999, state game officials discovered substandard cage wiring; the ranch corrected the issue by May 1999, the last inspection before the incident.<ref name="SPT"/>  On July 6, 2006, the [[United States Department of Agriculture]] ordered that Savage Kingdom's license be revoked permanently.<ref>{{cite court|litigants=Savage Kingdom, Inc., Rare Feline Breeding Center, Inc., Robert E. Baudy |vol=65·|reporter=Agric. Dec |opinion=879 |pinpoint=879-880 |court=OALJ |date=6 July 2006 |url=http://www.dm.usda.gov/oaljdecisions/vol65/Vol65_at_879.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923215428/http://www.dm.usda.gov/oaljdecisions/vol65/Vol65_at_879.pdf |url-status=dead |accessdate=16 April 2015}}</ref>