In 1824, the post of Surveyor General of the United States for the Territory of Florida was established to survey the public lands of Florida. Selling land was of highest priority, and a system was needed to allow new settlers to ensure the security of their title when the land was purchased. Money was needed to pay off the indemnity debt that the United States assumed from Spain during the Adams Onis Treaty where Spain ceded all of Florida to the U.S. Under President Monroe, the U.S. government took out a loan of $5 million to meet the indemnity awards under this treaty, and to quickly pay these debts, some of the land in Florida was to be immediately sold. It was one of the "great advantages resulting from the acquisition of the Territory". It was an advantage that was beyond anyone's expectations; the United States to put it allegorically had struck gold. President Monroe described his intent to sell Florida lands in his final State of the Union address of 1824.
"Under the act of the 24th of May last a loan of $5M was authorized, in order to meet the awards under the Florida treaty, which was negotiated at par with the Bank of the United States at 4.5%, the limit of interest fixed by the act. By this provision the claims of our citizens who had sustained so great a loss by spoliations, and from whom indemnity had been so long withheld, were promptly paid. For these advances the public will be amply repaid at no distant day by the sale of the lands in Florida. Of the great advantages resulting from the acquisition of the Territory in other respects too high an estimate can not be formed."The Monroe administration acted quickly, and Robert Butler was appointed as Surveyor General of Florida. Butler divided Florida up into 1,700 six by six mile land units using a township and range system. Similar to latitude, the township marked the east-west axis forming the northern and southern boundaries of a township, while the range marked the north and south axes like a longitude to form the eastern and western boundaries. Each six by six mile unit was called a Township, and was further divided into one square mile sections numbered 1 to 36. A location near Tallahassee was chosen as the prime meridian or the initial point where each Township and Range was measured from. This prime meridian still exists in Florida today. In 1891, the City Commission of Tallahassee passed a resolution asking the General Land Office to install a monument at the Prime Meridian, and in 1925 the first monument was erected by the Florida Legislature. In 2014, the old 1925 concrete monument was removed and replaced with a brand new monument where visitors can walk around an elaborate plaza representing each township of Florida. The plaza is located at Cascades Park, and has been listed on the National Register of Historic places since 1971.
Selling of the of the surveyed pubic lands began in 1825, but one of the first land grants was a gift to General Marquis de Lafayette who was awarded a land grant by the Untied Stated Congress. Lafayette was granted an entire township near Tallahassee. Marquis was a General from France who fought side by side with George Washington in the revolution. In 1824, Lafayette had just returned to the United States and was given a hero's welcome. President Monroe asked Congress to give him a worthy welcome and to find a way to honor America's hero in a way that was uniquely American. Congress held a grand reception at the Capital, where Speaker Henry Clay presided over the ceremonies. It's not clear if the grant was made to Lafayette at this presentation, but there is little doubt that this land grant was party of the celebration. General Lafayette, who was age 67 at the time, returned to France and never did visit his land, and in his place sent people to grow limes and olives and produce silk from moths. His colony failed, and most of the residents either returned to France or moved to New Orleans. Lafayette eventually sold his property. Some of the settlers who remained, lived in an area of Tallahassee that is still called Frenchtown.
References
Presidency.ucsb.edu. (2017). James Monroe: Eighth Annual Message. [online] Available at: http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=29466 [Accessed 4 Dec. 2017].
Clark, G. (2017). Online Catalog - State Archives of Florida - Florida Department of State. [online] Archivescatalog.info.florida.gov. Available at: http://archivescatalog.info.florida.gov/default.asp?IDCFile=/fsa/detailss.idc,SPECIFIC=1274,DATABASE=SERIES, [Accessed 4 Dec. 2017].
Florida Memory Blog. (2017). Florida's Own Prime Meridian. [online] Available at: http://www.floridamemory.com/blog/2014/07/21/floridas-own-prime-meridian/ [Accessed 4 Dec. 2017].
Stateoftheunionhistory.com. (2017). 1824 James Monroe - Welcoming General Marquis de Lafayette. [online] Available at: http://www.stateoftheunionhistory.com/2017/11/1824-james-monroe-welcoming-general.html [Accessed 4 Dec. 2017].
Turnbull, P. (2017). The Land of Flowers: A Look at the History of Florida, pg 108
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/Cascades_Park_%28Tallahassee%29%2C_Tallahassee_meridian_marker.JPG
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