Center Hill, Florida

Center Hill, Florida
City
City hall/police station
Location in Sumter County and the state of Florida
Coordinates: 28°38′56″N 81°59′43″W / 28.64889°N 81.99528°W / 28.64889; -81.99528Coordinates: 28°38′56″N 81°59′43″W / 28.64889°N 81.99528°W / 28.64889; -81.99528
Country	United States
State	Florida
County	Sumter
Area
• Total	1.8 sq mi (4.5 km2)
• Land	1.7 sq mi (4.4 km2)
• Water	0.1 sq mi (0.1 km2)
Elevation	98 ft (30 m)
Population (2000)
• Total	910
• Density	505.6/sq mi (202.2/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	33514
Area code(s)	352
FIPS code	12-11325
GNIS feature ID	0280236

Center Hill is a city in Sumter County, Florida, United States. The population was 909 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S Census estimates of 2006, the city had a population of 996. The current mayor is Jim Walts.

By 1800, black Seminoles and "maroons", or fugitive slaves, had settled in Abraham's Old Town and the Wahoo Swamp. Maroons who fought for 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. The black Seminoles settled in the Center Hill area in 1813 and named it Peliklakaha. Accompanying them was Seminole chief Micanopy, who made Peliklakaha his residence after the death of Payne.

The town had about 100 residents. They came as runaway slaves from Georgia. Others were of African descent, specifically from the Kongo region, 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. The residents lived in buildings constructed from daub, thatch, and lumber. Peliklakaha participated in regional trade with the Seminoles, black hunters travelling to South Florida, and white travelers as the village was located at the center of several well-travelled Indian trails.

The United States and Florida governments noticed the area's fertility. In 1823, while informing the Seminoles about the 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. In 1826, United States Army General George McCall visited Peliklakaha and noticed that their farms were located on what General McCall called "the finest land".

Whites called the town "Abraham's Old Town", after Abraham, a former slave who had been given his freedom by the British and who served as a recruiter and an interpreter for the Seminoles. After hearing that 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. Abraham left the village after Dade's Massacre on December 28, 1835. A short time later in 1836, General Winifred Scott moved General Abraham Eustis' troops to the Peliklakaha area to destroy the Seminoles. General Eustis and his troops burned Peliklakaha; no Seminoles were killed as Peliklakaha's population fled to the Wahoo Swamp before Eustis’ forces arrived. General Eustis would later commission a painting depicting the burning of Peliklakaha, which later was hung in the Library of Congress.