Knott House Museum

The Knott House Museum is located in Tallahassee, Florida at the Museum of Florida. The large-scale exhibit is located at East Park Avenue. The home was built in 1843 by a free black builder named George Proctor. It was first owned by Thomas Hagner, a lawyer, and his wife Catherine Gamble. In 1865, the house served as a temporary Union Headquarters. This was where Brigadier General Edward McCook announced the Emancipation Proclamation. During the 1880s, the house served as the home of Dr. George Betton, a physician. He also used the house as his office. Betton was responsible for training William Gunn, the state's first African-American physician. The house was acquired by Luella Knott in 1928 and served as the home of three Florida Supreme Court judges. Knott was the wife of a state treasurer and frequently hosted social functions in the home. She also wrote about the house and included it in many of her poems. The house earned the nickname "The House That Rhymes," due to Knott's poetry. When Louella's son died in 1985, the home was left to the Historic Tallahassee Preservation Board. It underwent renovations and was opened to the public in 1992. The Museum of Florida History took ownership of the house in 1997.