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The annual Emancipation Day celebration in Tallahassee is held at the Knott House, from whose steps Union Gen. Edward McCook read the Emancipation Proclamation on May 20, 1865 -- officially signaling the end of slavery in Florida. The historic house at 301 E. Park was built in 1843 by free black George Proctor, who built many antebellum homes in Tallahassee. It was originally occupied by attorney Thomas Hagner and his wife, Catherine Gamble. In 1928, it became the home of Luella and William Knott, who spent 38 years in the Florida Cabinet (1903-1941) as state treasurer and comptroller; his wife was a poet, who published several books. Following their deaths in 1965, their son, Charlie, lived in the home until his death in 1985, when he willed it to the former Historic Tallahassee Preservation Board. In 1997, the home was transferred to the state, which operates it as a museum.