Historic Haile Homestead

The Historic Haile Homestead at Kanapaha Plantation: In 1854, Thomas Evans and Serena Chesnut Haile moved their family from Camden, South Carolina to Gainesville, Alachua County, Florida. Their 6,200 square foot home was built by 56 enslaved laborers. The Historic Haile Homestead is unique in the nation for its "Talking Walls." For a reason lost to time, the Haile family wrote on the walls of their home - over 12,500 words in almost every room and closet! Come visit us this weekend and see this gem of history, frozen in time. Let the walls speak to you of joys and sorrows of more than a century ago. The recently opened, reconstructed Kitchen is now part of our tours! The Homestead is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Visit the Allen and Ethel Graham Visitors Center and Museum! Learn about the enslaved laborers and freedmen, whose stories are intertwined into the fabric of our tours. We have videos to watch while you wait for your tour to begin: "Beginnings" and "Enslavement to Freedom." Learn about a group of cotton planters who relocated from South Carolina to Florida in the 1850s. And more importantly, learn about what slavery was, the brutal truth of it, and how Reconstruction and Jim Crow impacted freedmen in Alachua County and Florida. 

Historic Haile Homestead Inc. is the all-volunteer 501c3 non-profit organization that runs the house. We are open for tours on Saturdays 10 AM to 2 PM, with the last tour beginning at 12:45 PM and Sundays 12 PM to 4 PM, with the last tour beginning at 2:45 PM. Tour times are posted on our webpage and Facebook page. Tours are $5 per person, under 12 free.  Weekday tours may be available as follows: Tours of less than 10 people are $10 per person. Please schedule a weekday tour at least one week in advance. Dependent upon docent availability. Group (10+) tour rates available.  We may be closed on holiday weekends and other weekends as necessary. Please see our website or Facebook page for planned closure dates.