12/20 Today in Florida History from the Florida Historical Society!
1865 - David Shelby Walker, Florida’s eighth governor (December 20, 1865-July 4, 1868), was inaugurated on this date. Shelby was born in Russellville, Kentucky, on May 2, 1815. After attending private schools in Kentucky and Tennessee, he settled in Leon County, Florida, in 1837. Walker was a member of the first Legislature under statehood as a Senator from Leon County (1845) and a Representative from Leon County in 1848. From 1849 until 1854, he served as the Register to Public Lands and the State Superintendent of Public Instruction. He was Mayor of Tallahassee, and in 1860, became a Justice on the Florida Supreme Court, a position he held until he became governor. Although Walker opposed secession, he supported Florida when it left the Union. Walker’s administration had the difficult task of restoring civil government during reconstruction. He returned to the practice of law in 1868 and was appointed Circuit Court judge in 1876, a position he held until his death on July 20, 1891. He is buried in the Saint John’s Episcopal Church Cemetery in Tallahassee.
