Historic Haile Homestead

Completed in 1856 by enslaved craftsmen, the 6,200 square foot restored plantation house is unique in the Nation for its “Talking Walls.” The Haile family and friends wrote on the walls of their home, over 12,500 words in almost every room and closet dating back to the 1850s. Nat’l Register.

In 1854 Thomas Evans and Serena Chesnut Haile moved their family from Camden, South Carolina to Gainesville, Alachua County, Florida. It is there they established a 1500-acre Sea Island cotton plantation they named Kanapaha. Completed in 1856 by enslaved craftsmen, the 6,200 square foot homestead stands today as one of the few remaining antebellum homes in North Central Florida.

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.

On the National Register of Historic Places. Docent-led tours.