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Dade Battlefield Historic State Park was the site of the opening battle of the Second Seminole War on 28 December 1835. Angry over the American government's Indian removal policy, a group of 180 Seminole males attacked Major Francis Dade and his 103 soldiers marching from Fort Brook (Tampa) to Fort King (Ocala). Only three of the Americans survived. The event was for years known as Dade's Massacre. Starting in 1905, with Congressman Stephen Sparkman, attempts were made to preserve the site. Finally on 29 September 1921, at the urging of US Senator Duncan Fletcher, the state legislature purchased the site as a historic memorial. The 80-acre property was later transferred to the Florida Park Service as a state park. In 1972, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Dade Battlefield Historic Memorial. It was also designated as a National Historic Landmark.

The Gatling gun was not invented until many years after the Dade battle and was inappropriate for display so it was later moved.