The Tallahassee Prince Who Ate Owls for Dinner

Tallahassee has had its fair share of characters over the last 200 years. But none of them hold a candle to Prince Achille Murat.

If you think your neighbor is eccentric because he mows the lawn in a bathrobe, wait.

Achille was Napoleon Bonaparte's nephew. He was the Crown Prince of Naples. He grew up in European palaces with servants and velvet everything. And yet, in the 1820s, he decided to move to a log cabin in Tallahassee, sleep on a mattress stuffed with Spanish moss, and serve as our Mayor.

From Palaces to Pine Trees

When Napoleon's empire collapsed, the royal family scattered. Achille's father (the King of Naples) was executed by firing squad. Achille needed a new home, somewhere far away from European politics.

Right around this time, Gov. William Pope Duval issued a proclamation designating a site as the new territorial capital of Florida. That year, Duval built a log cabin that would serve as the first capitol building, and other settlers and territorial officials began to arrive, erecting temporary shelters while permanent government buildings started going up.

Naturally, he chose territorial Florida. As word spread of the new capital taking shape and the availability of large tracts of fertile land in the area, planters, mainly from Virginia and the Carolinas, came down to establish new plantations.

Murat was one of these people who arrived around 1824 and bought a plantation in Jefferson County. He named it "Lipona." If that sounds fancy, it's actually just a cheeky anagram for Napoli (Naples), the kingdom he was supposed to rule. It was his way of winking at the destiny he left behind while he swatted mosquitoes in the swamp.

The Princess's "Palace" (That You Can Actually Visit)

While Achille's original "log cabin" at the Lipona plantation is long gone, you can still step inside the home of the Murat family today. It's called Bellevue, and it's the centerpiece of the "Old Florida" exhibit at the Tallahassee Museum.

There is a catch, though: this was actually the home Catherine bought after Achille died. While it isn't the log cabin where he ate owl stew, it is a perfect example of the "frontier royalty" lifestyle. It's a modest, wooden farmhouse, not a stone castle. When you walk through the small parlor and see the simple pine floors, it really hits home: a woman who was technically a French Princess and the great-grandniece of George Washington lived here in a house smaller than some modern apartments.

The Culinary Daredevil (hold the Buzzard)

Murat considered himself a scientist of the swamp. His hypothesis? Anything is edible if you are brave enough.

He didn't just hunt local wildlife; he turned it into a gross-out challenge. He happily dined on alligator and rattlesnake. He famously boiled and ate an owl, which he claimed wasn't half bad.

But local lore holds that he finally met his match with the turkey vulture, famously declaring that while he could handle the owl, the buzzard was where he drew the line.

Hygiene is for Commoners

If you invited Prince Murat to your house, you probably covered the furniture first.

The Prince had a deeply held, superstitious fear of water. He believed bathing would kill him. Consequently, he rarely did it. He was known to chew tobacco, wear boots that hadn't seen polish in years, and generally look like he'd just wrestled a bear.

Despite (or perhaps because of) his rough edges, the locals loved him. He was elected Alderman in 1824 and became Mayor of Tallahassee (Intendant) in 1825.

The Ultimate Historical Crossover

Just when you think the story can't get weirder, it turns into a romantic comedy.

In 1826, the unwashed, owl-eating nephew of Napoleon managed to woo Catherine Willis Gray. Catherine wasn't just a local belle; she was the great-grandniece of George Washington.

Let that sink in. The House of Bonaparte (French Empire) and the House of Washington (American Republic) united... in Tallahassee. They were the ultimate 19th-century power couple, bridging the gap between European royalty and American grit.

Go Say Hello

Prince Achille Murat died in 1847. He didn't make it back to a European cathedral; he's right here in town.

You can visit him and Catherine at the St. John's Episcopal Church Cemetery on North Monroe Street. Just look for the tall obelisks. His marker proudly reads "Prince of Naples."

It's a permanent reminder that long before we had FSU football or the Capitol tower, Tallahassee was the chosen home of a Prince who just really, really hated buzzard stew.