Florida Historical Markers Programs - Marker Detail

Description: This is the site of the first federal tree farm in the United States. Live oaks were once valued for their superior shipbuilding qualities. The U.S.S. Constellation and U.S.S. Constitution (“Old Ironsides”), both launched in 1797, were built of live oak (using c. 160 and 460 trees, respectively). Timber theft led to congressional acts in 1817 and 1822 for the purpose of supplying timber for the United States Navy. These acts prohibited sale of public lands containing live oaks. An 1826 report to the Secretary of the Navy claimed two million cubic feet of live oak had been stolen from the South Atlantic Coast, probably “consumed abroad." This resulted in the Timber Trespass Act of 1827, authorizing penalties for timber theft and the establishment of a live oak plantation. In 1828, President John Q. Adams introduced a congressional resolution establishing this site for the plantation and appointed West Florida District Judge Henry Marie Brakenridge superintendent. Brakenridge studied live oak history and began growing live oaks here. Some 1,300 acres of the original live oak reservation are now preserved by the National Park Service as part of Gulf Islands National Seashore.