These concepts for a commemoration to dozens of unmarked graves located on the grounds of Capital City Country Club were supposed to become a reality. Special to the Democrat
Andrew McFeaters, an archeological technician, uses a ground penetrating radar to search for any signs of unmarked graves at the Capital City Country Club golf course on Monday, Nov. 18, 2019.
The green ovals in in the grid of this radar image of the 7th hole of the Capital City Country Club are likely graves, said Jeffrey Shanks, archaeologist with National Park Service. The blue ovals are possible graves.
Capital City Golf Club suffered significant damage from Friday's storms, May 12, 2024

After years of discussion and planning, several speakers pressed city commissioners for answers on why the unmarked graves of those believed to be Black slaves have yet to be memorialized at the Capital City Country Club.

The issue comes as the country club, strapped for cash, petitions the city to break its lease and sell the land to the organization based on the club's $1.15 million appraisal of the land.

In a 2021 article in the Tallahassee Democrat unveiling the vision for the memorial, City Parks and Recreation and Neighborhood Affairs Director Ashley Edwards said construction was to be completed by the fall of that year.

But almost four years later, there has been little movement.

For Delaitre Hollinger, one of several speakers at Wednesday's City Commission meeting, the wait is unacceptable and the lack of action was "simply disgraceful." He said knowledge of the graves has been known for more than a decade.

He railed against the city manager's failure to bring an update, despite Hollinger being appointed to a memorialization committee after the 2019 discovery of at least 40 graves made possible by ground-penetrating radar and cadaver dogs.

What's worse, he said, was the fact that Commissioner Jack Porter's two separate requests for an update since last year have gone unanswered — a sticking point she, too, made at Wednesday's City Commission meeting.

"This property does not belong to the country club. It belongs to the taxpayers of the city of Tallahassee," said Hollinger, president of the National Association for the Preservation of African American History and Culture. "There is no signage that has been erected. There are no interpretative markers. There is no fence. There is still nothing to this day to even indicate that a grave site is present."

Hollinger said that if the city should move forward with the country club's request to purchase the land, the cemetery portions of the land shouldn't be included.

"They were sold in life and now we are proposing to sell them in death," he said, referring to the former slaves and their final resting area. "Commissioners, that is unconscionable."

Matlow, Porter raise questions about financials and offer other options to selling property

In a familiar 3-2 vote, commissioners voted to move forward with the city obtaining its own property appraisal and preparing a proposal to sell the land to the Capital City Country Club if the commission decides to move forward.

Located in the Myers Park Neighborhood, the city-owned property spans nearly 180 acres and is mostly used as an 18-hole golf course. The country club owns 9 acres, which includes a clubhouse, tennis court and pool.

It was founded in 1908, making it one of the state's oldest golf courses. In 1935, the property was deeded to the city and it wasn't until 1956 when the property was leased back to the country club.

It was a private club until a decade ago when it fell under a new management company, Orlando-based Integrity Golf, which was considered a major shift given it had been a private club since 1956 — "when it closed its doors to the public to avoid racial integration," a 2015 Tallahassee Democrat article reported.

The country club is struggling to meet daily operations due to competitors, membership dips and recovery after a freak tornado outbreak last year that ripped through Tallahassee.

The 99-year, $1-a-year lease terms restrict the golf club's ability to pursue loans and other means of financial support, according to a letter from the country club to commissioners. It also said the club needs to "infuse significant capital investment into course improvements to survive," and that it's barely able to maintain its operating budget.

Commissioner Jeremy Matlow and Porter voted against Wednesday's action. They cited concerns over the missing memorials and questions about the club's financial solvency, even if it's able to secure financial support for its infrastructure needs.

"The idea that you can't borrow money to improve property you don't own, it's just not true," Matlow said. "I've spent hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars approved by my bank to invest in properties I don't own.

"What banks are looking for is your financial solvency," he said. "Whether you have the ability in your business plan to repay a loan, and what I'm hearing is they are not solvent enough to invest."

Porter said she doesn't want to see the golf course fail but she said the commission needs answers or some level of insight on the "what if" factor if it does.

"Whether it's considering other partnerships, considering other financing mechanisms or considering a purchase by the city," Porter said. "I'm interested in knowing what those options are. I'm not interested in supporting a motion today that we prepare a proposal to sell the parcel."

Mayor, Richardson and Williams-Cox willing to see results from the city's appraisal

During discussion, Tallahassee Mayor John Dailey and Commissioners Curtis Richardson and Dianne Williams-Cox highlighted possible dealbreakers, but city staff eased their concerns.

Dailey said he wouldn't support selling the property if the move opened the door for future development and he wanted to make sure "we properly preserve the cemetery with signage, with maintenance, with everything that the community come together to design."

"I think we have an incredible opportunity to do so," Dailey said. "So, I am willing to take the next step and have it brought to us."

Williams-Cox took issue with digs made toward the city that nothing had been done to memorialize the grave sites, adding work was nearly done at one point.

"I know that we were almost ready to implement the memorial. There were some complications dealing with semantics," she said, regarding what wording would be used on the markers. "It got beyond that and the tornadoes hit and now, from what I understand, the condition of the area is unsafe."

In May 2024, dueling tornadoes shredded parts of Tallahassee, including the south side where the golf course is located. The property sustained extensive damage and leveled hundreds of trees.

City Manager Reese Goad indicated the tornado damage were factors that contributed to the memorialization delay, prompting Williams-Cox to say "those things have to be taken into consideration."

"I get it. I get it. But, to say nothing's been done, it's not true," she said. "There has been work being done. It may not be what we want, may not be the conclusion we want, but here's an opportunity to continue this work."

She also made a point about the country club lease and how it's not generating much money now. If the property were sold, Williams-Cox said the revenue would be put into the city's deficiency fund, which shores up gaps in the budget.

Still, Richardson questioned the sluggish pace that's taken place so far to bring memorial markers to the site, "adding that's been a long time for nothing to have happened."

He also questioned what happens to the property if the Capital City Country is unable to secure the financing necessary to stay afloat. Another question: Will the country club break its lease and turn the property over to the city, he pondered.

"If that happens, what does the city do with a golf course without a clubhouse and a pool," Richardson said. "So, I'm ok with going forward with having information brought back to us ... But I'm not in a position to go forward with actually turning this property over to the club at this point."

Richardson called out the country club for not having done anything sooner to memorialize the graves and said, "They have done nothing themselves as an organization to move that effort forward."

"I have an issue with that," he said.

No one from the Capital City Country Club was present at the meeting and the club's management declined to comment when previously contacted by the Tallahassee Democrat.

Contact Economic Development Reporter TaMaryn Waters at tlwaters@tallahassee.com and follow @TaMarynWaters on X.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida council asked why unmarked graves of slaves on golf course haven't been memorialized

Reporting by TaMaryn Waters, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat

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