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The 1855 General Land Office map of the Tampa Land District illustrates the implementation of the Swamp Land Act of 1850 in Florida. This federal legislation granted states ownership of federally-held swamplands within their borders.
The map shows a grid of townships in southern Florida, marking the progress of swampland identification and transfer. Asterisks indicate townships where Swamp Land Lists were completed and submitted for review. Circles denote areas where lists were in process or under examination.
Swamp Land Lists were inventories of lands claimed by state officials as qualifying swamplands under the Act. Their creation required extensive surveying to determine which lands met the criteria of being sufficiently swampy or flood-prone.
This process was particularly significant for Florida due to its extensive wetlands, including the Everglades. The transfer of swamplands to state control set the stage for large-scale drainage projects that would alter Florida's landscape and hydrology.
The map reflects the systematic approach to land surveying and claiming that characterized 19th-century American expansion. It documents a key phase in Florida's development, when wetlands previously seen as obstacles were reframed as potential agricultural and real estate assets.
This land transfer process had lasting implications for Florida's environment and economy. It led to the draining of millions of acres of wetlands for agriculture and development, shaping the state's growth patterns for decades to come.
The map serves as a historical record of the changing perceptions of wetlands in America and the beginnings of large-scale land management policies that would significantly impact Florida's natural ecosystems.
The General Land Office (GLO) refers to the independent agency in the United States that was in charge of public domain lands. Created in 1812, it assumed the responsibilities for public domain lands from the United States Department of the Treasury. The Treasury had overseen the survey of the Northwest Territory, but as more area was added to the United States, a new agency was necessary to survey the new lands.
Eventually, the GLO would be responsible for the surveying, platting, and sale of the majority of the land west of the Mississippi, with the exception of Texas. When the Secretary of the Interior was created in 1849, the GLO was placed under its authority. Until the creation of the Forest Service in 1905, the GLO also managed forest lands that had been removed from public domain. In additional to managing the fees and sales of land, the GLO produced maps and plans of the areas and plots they surveyed. In 1946, the GLO merged with the United States Grazing Service to become the Bureau of Land Management.
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![The North Coast of the Gulf of Mexico from St. Marks to Galveston . . . 1844 . . . Additions to 1856, including the Surveys of Comr. Powell, Lt. Simmes & Profr. Coffin, U.S. Navy [and] St. Marks to Galveston. Sheet II. . . . 1845. Additions to 1851 . . . .](https://storage.googleapis.com/raremaps/img/small/89497.jpg)
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