The forced-labor farms of Leon County were numerous and vast. Leon County, Florida, was a hub of cotton production. From the 1820s through 1850s Leon County's fertile red clay soils and long growing season attracted cotton planters from Georgia, Virginia, Maryland, North and South Carolina, among other states as well as countries abroad.

Enslaved workers in Leon County

For some time before the early stages of the Civil War Leon County was the fifth-largest producer of cotton in Georgia and Florida. Another source states that Leon County led the state in cotton production. Because of this, in 1840, there were only 654 adult white males, but 3980 people "engaged in agriculture". In 1860, 73% of the population of Leon County consisted of enslaved black persons; as was true elsewhere in the South, the value of those enslaved persons far exceeded the value of all the land in the county. Leon County had more enslaved people than any other county in Florida, and it was, therefore, the wealthiest county in Florida. It was also the center of Florida's slave trade.

Forced-labor farms in 1860

Note: Value = plantation value in United States dollars. TA = total area. IA = improved area. UA = unimproved area. Corn = in bushels. Cotton = bales of cotton