Presidents have always visited Florida’s capital – and Jimmy Carter was no exception.
The 39th president of the United States, who served one term from 1977 to 1981, came to Tallahassee on at least two noteworthy occasions. He died Sunday at the age of 100.
One instance was in 1976, when he campaigned here during his presidential run.
In February of that year, the Tallahassee Democrat reported that he had a local campaign headquarters at 304 E. Tennessee St., now the location of the Capital City Trust Co.
The State Archives of Florida have a photo of Carter speaking here next to then-Florida House Speaker Donald L. Tucker; the county’s Civic Center was later named for Tucker. (The photo caption doesn’t give an exact location or date.)
Another occurred in 1980 when he attended an event at the Governor’s Mansion as part of his unsuccessful reelection campaign. He went on to lose against Republican Ronald Reagan.
The state archives also have what they describe as a “poorly edited film” of Carter “speaking to a gathering of Florida Democrats at the North Florida Fairgrounds in Tallahassee” on Oct. 9, 1980.