Achille Murat, prince of Naples, Italy, was an eccentric character among Tallahassee’s early pioneers. He came to Middle Florida in 1825 as an exile due to his famous French uncle’s fall from grace: his uncle was Napoleon Bonapart.

Murat settled in Tallahassee on a large tract of land and established his plantation, which he named Lipona, an anagram of his former home, Napoli.

Murat had such an aversion to water that he would not drink it or bathe in it. He was addicted to chewing tobacco and used his shaggy dog as a spittoon.

In spite of his eccentricities, Murat married Catherine Willis Gray of Tallahassee, a great-grand niece of George Washington. They had a happy marriage, and their home became the center of high-society.

Murat became a United States citizen in 1828, was a judge in Jefferson County, and served in the Florida militia during the Seminole Wars. He died in 1847 after trying unsuccessfully to obtain a share of the Bonapart family fortune. He is buried next to his wife in the old Episcopal Cemetery in Tallahassee.

Courtesy of the Florida Department of State, Division of Historical Resources