Remembering Suwannee: Francis James Ross, Part 4

Eric Musgrove Contributor We continue looking at Francis J. Ross this week. On Feb. 28, 1833, the Federal government approved a post office at "Ross's Mineral Springs," the same day postal operations began at Alligator (later known as Lake City); they were the first two post offices in recently established Columbia County. Arthur Sykes was the first and only postmaster of Ross's Mineral Springs, as it was discontinued in September of the same year. A year later, another post office would open in the area and be called Mineral Springs. In the meantime, Ross held a prominent job with the Union Bank, established in 1833 in Tallahassee, which allowed citizens to expand their plantations and