Daniel Ladd
Encyclopedia
Daniel Ladd was born in Augusta, Maine
and was an exporter, cotton broker and merchant in early Florida
and active as a member of the Secession Convention of Florida.
in what would be Wakulla County, Florida
where he worked in his uncle's store. He would later take on the responsibilities of running his uncle's store in Port Leon, Florida
. Ladd moved to Newport after the 1843 hurricane. As Newport grew, Ladd's business grew as well with him adding a large sawmill
, foundry
, two hotels and turpentine
works to the town. He was a major proponent and President of the Georgia-Florida Plank Road Company
. Having a growing business, Ladd purchased a side-paddle wheel
steamer in 1850 which was named the Spray
. The Spray operated as far south as Cedar Key, Florida
, up the Apalachicola River
to Columbus, Georgia
, up the Suwannee River
and west to New Orleans transporting cotton, naval stores, hides, tobacco, beeswax. With his location as well as businesses and transport, Ladd became a mercantile power handling almost all of the merchants and planters for the Red Hills Region
and nearby.
, Ladd was offered an officer's position in the Confederate Army. He turned down
the offer due to his familial connections with Maine. During the war, his Spray became the CSS Spray and was put into duty as a gunboat
. The war cost him an estimated loss of $500,000 and after the war, Ladd continued business and did rebuild some of his stores at Newport but not to the degree they had been pre-war.
Augusta, Maine
Augusta is the capital of the US state of Maine, county seat of Kennebec County, and center of population for Maine. The city's population was 19,136 at the 2010 census, making it the third-smallest state capital after Montpelier, Vermont and Pierre, South Dakota...
and was an exporter, cotton broker and merchant in early Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
and active as a member of the Secession Convention of Florida.
Antebellum
Ladd came to Florida in 1833 and settled in Magnolia, FloridaMagnolia, Florida
Magnolia, Florida was a thriving river port town in southern Wakulla County, Florida, established in the 1820s and is classified as an "extinct city" by the State Library and Archives of Florida....
in what would be Wakulla County, Florida
Wakulla County, Florida
Wakulla County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 22,863. The U.S. Census Bureau 2005 estimate for the county was 28,212 people...
where he worked in his uncle's store. He would later take on the responsibilities of running his uncle's store in Port Leon, Florida
Port Leon, Florida
Port Leon, Florida was a river port town located in what is now Wakulla County, Florida, which existed for only about six years in the first half of the 19th century...
. Ladd moved to Newport after the 1843 hurricane. As Newport grew, Ladd's business grew as well with him adding a large sawmill
Sawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....
, foundry
Foundry
A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal in a mold, and removing the mold material or casting after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals processed are aluminum and cast iron...
, two hotels and turpentine
Turpentine
Turpentine is a fluid obtained by the distillation of resin obtained from trees, mainly pine trees. It is composed of terpenes, mainly the monoterpenes alpha-pinene and beta-pinene...
works to the town. He was a major proponent and President of the Georgia-Florida Plank Road Company
Georgia-Florida Plank Road Company
The Georgia-Florida Plank Road Company was 1 of 5 such roads authorized by the Florida legislature in 1850 but this was the only one built. Joseph Chaires and Green Chaires, plantation owners, were granted a charter for the plank road company...
. Having a growing business, Ladd purchased a side-paddle wheel
Paddle wheel
A paddle wheel is a waterwheel in which a number of scoops are set around the periphery of the wheel. It has several usages.* Very low lift water pumping, such as flooding paddy fields at no more than about height above the water source....
steamer in 1850 which was named the Spray
CSS Spray
The CSS Spray was a steam-powered, side-paddle wheel tugboat built in New Albany, Indiana originally fitted as a mercantile ship before becoming a gunboat in the Confederate States Navy and used in the St. Marks, Newport, Florida area....
. The Spray operated as far south as Cedar Key, Florida
Cedar Key, Florida
Cedar Key is a city in Levy County, Florida, United States. The population was 790 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S Census estimates of 2005, the city had a population of 958. The Cedar Keys are a cluster of islands close to the mainland. Most of the developed area of the city has been on...
, up the Apalachicola River
Apalachicola River
The Apalachicola River is a river, approximately 112 mi long in the State of Florida. This river's large watershed, known as the ACF River Basin for short, drains an area of approximately into the Gulf of Mexico. The distance to its farthest headstream in northeast Georgia is approximately 500...
to Columbus, Georgia
Columbus, Georgia
Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Muscogee County, Georgia, United States, with which it is consolidated. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 189,885. It is the principal city of the Columbus, Georgia metropolitan area, which, in 2009, had an estimated population of 292,795...
, up the Suwannee River
Suwannee River
The Suwannee River is a major river of southern Georgia and northern Florida in the United States. It is a wild blackwater river, about long. The Suwannee River is the site of the prehistoric Suwannee Straits which separated peninsular Florida from the panhandle.-Geography:The river rises in the...
and west to New Orleans transporting cotton, naval stores, hides, tobacco, beeswax. With his location as well as businesses and transport, Ladd became a mercantile power handling almost all of the merchants and planters for the Red Hills Region
Red Hills Region
The Red Hills Region is a unique 300,000-acre area of the southeastearn United States overlapping parts of southwestern Georgia and north Florida.-Location:...
and nearby.
Civil war
Upon the outbreak of the American Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, Ladd was offered an officer's position in the Confederate Army. He turned down
the offer due to his familial connections with Maine. During the war, his Spray became the CSS Spray and was put into duty as a gunboat
Gunboat
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.-History:...
. The war cost him an estimated loss of $500,000 and after the war, Ladd continued business and did rebuild some of his stores at Newport but not to the degree they had been pre-war.