A History of the Naval Live Oak Reservation Program, 1794-1880

268 Pages·2007·2.74 MB·English

Deal Ol
special history study

ont

navel ive dak veservation oragram, 1794-1880 -
september 1983

Pkg. 79
Prepared and publisned by the Denver Service Center
SPECIAL HISTORY STUDY

A HISTORY OF T4E NAVAL LIVE OAK
RESERVATION PROGRAM, 1796-1880: A
FORGOTTEN CHAPTER IN THE HISTORY OF
AMERICAN CONSERVATION

GULF ISLANDS NATIONAI SEASHORE
FLORIDA/M!SS.SSIPP]

By
Charles W. Snell

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR/NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

CONEENTS:

INTRODUCTION / 1

1 LIVE DAS AND THE U.S. NAVY, 1794-7880 / 4
Bullaing a Fleet, 1794-1832 /" 4
Importance of Live Oak in Americen Naval Architecture,
1784-1857 /
Density and Dist*ibution of Live Oak In the United States / 12
Pracuring Live ak Timber for U.S. Naval Coristruelian,
1794-1880 713

2 EVOLUT ON OF THE TIMBER CONSERVATION IDEA, 1794-1824 / 17
Purchase of Live Oak Lands in Georgia, 1788-1800. / 17
The First Timber Conservation Law, Marca 1, 1817/21
First Live Oak Survey and Reservation, 1818-20 / 23,
The Problem of Florida, 181-24 / 26

3 ORMULATION OF A NAVAL LIVE OAK RESERVATION PROGRAM
UNDER ®RESIDENT AGAMS ANO SECRETARY SOUTHARD, 1825-29 / 24
Survey of the Florida Pubile limber, 1825-27 / 29
Act of March 3, 187, to Improve the Yavy and tc Preserve tre
Naval Timber "/ 34

Second Naval Timber Reservation, 1827 / 37
Florida Live Oak Surveys, 1828 tb March 4, 1829 39
Plans ard Land Acquisition for West Florica Rese-Vations, 1828 41
Establishment of te Deer Point Naval Live Oak Plantation, 1628-29 / 48
Accompl'shments of the Adams Acminlstration, 1825-29 / 59

4 ATTACKS AGAINST THE LIVE OAK PROGRAM UNDER PRESIGENT
YACKSON AND SECRETARY BRANCH, MARCH 1899 TO MAY 1831 / 81
Establishment of the First West Florida Reservation, 1823 to
Navenber 1830 62
Closing Down of the Deer Point Plantation, Aprit 7, 1829, 10
January 18, 1831/65
Accusations of Fraud in the Adams Administration, December 1850
te January 1831/79
Congressionst Support cf the Naval Live Oak Program, February
181/89
Implementation of the Seven-Dietrlet Live Oak Survey and Fetrof
‘System, April to Vay /831 / 2
Accomplishments of the rst Two Years of the Jackson
‘Adeinistration 9%

INTRODUCTION

‘The purpose of this stucy is to facilitate the preservation, development,
and interpretation of the 1,337.8?-sere Decr Point Naval Live Oak
Pianlation on the Santa Rosa Peninsula, Florida, which leday forms part
of Gulf Islaxds Nationet Seashore. The olantation was established os part
of the U.S. naval live oak reservation program, which was an intermitlent
focus of U.S. defense strategy from 1794, when Congress moved to
rebuile the American savy, untif the 1B60s, when iron warships were
Heveloned. This report surveys all of the aval titber preservation
efforts made during this parlod, with emphasis or the na
plantatien at Deer Point In this historical context

live eak

‘he naval live oak reservation program is a chapter in the history of
‘American conservation that has been almost entirely forgctten. The
subject matter proved to be much more complex, and the amount of
documentary material amazingly more voluminous, than had beer
anticipated, wich the result thet tine anc money for the project was
insuffieient to permit researching and studying alt phases of the program
at the same depth. Chapters 1 zhreugh 3 prasant @ detailed nlstory of
‘the origin, development, and operation of the naval five oak reservation
prograin from 1794 to 1837. Chapter & provides general accounts of the
operation of tne program from 1838 to 1861 and of the end of the pragram
in 1878-80, Chapter 7 summarizes the Wletary of the entire oeriod
Finally, chapter & prosents date on the physical histary of the Deer Poirt
piantation from 1822 to 1832.

‘The infermation compilac’ in this report--which fs almost all new and
completely unsuspacted--indicates that the Deer Point Naval Live Oak
Plantation is @ cullural resource “of the first order of significance." IF
this preves true, the planning, sevelapme

and interprelation
documents for this area cf Gu'f Islands National Seashore should be
amended to ensure the appropriate use of the plantation
The major findings of this report are summarized below

Samual L. Southard, secretary of the navy under President Jahn
Quincy Adams, farmulatad the first comprehensive naval tive oak
reservation pragram for the United States in 1827. —he focal point
fof Secretary Soulhard's planning far the reservation system was the
Santa Rosa Peninsula and Pensacola say reglon of West Florida,

Secretary Southard purchased the land for tne Deer Point plantation
because il was one of only three tracts of private land in what he
envisioned would bacaze a 80,00d-acre system of naval tive oak
reservations surrounding the Pansacala Navy Yard. Only five land
purchases (ireluding this ene) were ever made by the U.S.
government for the purposes of preserving live oak timber (mast
lands In the timber reservation system were reserved from the public,
domain). The 1,887.87-acre tract that would become the Deer Point
plantation was acquired for $4,900 on march 10, 1828.

‘The Deer Point plantation was the only naval tive cak plantation ever
established In the United Stetas and the first experimental tree farm,
public or private, In the natlon. It began aneratlons January 18,
1829, about 84 years before the first privately operated tree
plantation was established

Land near Deer Paint abutting the plantation was Included in the
third naval timber reservation ta be established in the United States
and the first ta be established in the terrilory of Ferida, whieh
would subsequently become the heart of the naval live nak
reservation system. This reservation, comprising 1,?19.36 acres,
Was established in 1830

The Jacksan admintstralion (1879-37) was at lirsl hoslife te tne naval
live oak pragram, as it was le most of the pragrams initiated during
the Adans administration. Jackson's first secretary of the navy,
John Branch, directed his general attack on the program specifically
toward the Deer Point plantation, apparently because he knew of
Adams's great interest in this experiment. Branch's closure af the
plantation in January 1881 triggered a b'tter and exlended debale in
Congress about the U.S. naval timber reservation policy, Although
Congress did not force Secretary Branch to reopen the Deer Point
plantation, it reaffirmed ne naval live cak reservation program
formulated by the Adams administration and directed that the
reservation system be expanded

Jackson's very able second secretary of the navy, Ley? Woodbury,
reformulated and greatly expanded the naval tive oak program
between 131 and 1834, Under Waadbury the reservation system was
expanded te approximalely 160,000 acnes, Including seme 90,000

acres in Florida:

Woodbury authorized the reopening of the Deer Point plantation on
Seplember 21, 1831, and tne plantation continued to operale as a
unique unit of Lhe national naval live aak reservation syslem yntil
the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861
1. LIVE OAK AND THE U.5. NAVY, 1794-1860

BUILDING & FLEET, 1794-1832

Congress, on march 27, 1794, enacted a law that authorized the
establishment of the second American navy and directed President George
Washington to have six frigates built for this purpose.’ The warships
wore to be Used to protect America merchant vesse’s fram the Algerines,
who were tren at war with the United States and attack’ng American
snins, On June 9 Congress appropriated the sum of $686,888.82 to pay
for the construetion, and it was hoped that the frigates would be
compretee within one year's time.”

Two major chenges in the original plans. however, vrevented completion
fon schedule, Gne cause of the delay was the decision tc make each of
the vessels about. 300 tons larger tran original'y planned; the seccnd
cause was "that Instead of making use of common timber for ouild:ng the
Tegaes, he [President Washington] caused the best live gak and red
cedar to be got “n Georgia, from whence it was ta be exported to lhe
[six] different. raval yards established urder his direction." The tasks
of loceting, purchasing, cutting, and transperting the live oak timber
proved to he much more difficult, time consuming, and hence costly, thar
had been anticipated. The resulting delay and the sunaway inflation that
was (nen ravishing the nation s economy caused 4 huge cost overrun. In
January 1790, two years later, Congress was informed that an additional
appropriation of $453,272 would be required if all of the six frigates were
to be completed.*

1. American State Papers: Naval Affairs, 4 vals. (Wwashinglon,
1834-81), 1:19 (hereafter Cited as ASP). “The first Americas navy was
the Continental navy af ine Wa" uf Iadependence, whch was authorized
by the Curtinental Congress or Qclober 12, 1/78. AL ‘ts maximum, in
1777, the Cuntiner lal navy had 2 vesse s in commission. In 1782 it had
only’ sevan vessels lefl in aperatian. The United Scales had ne navy fram
1784 <a March 1794,

2 shia

3. Iaid., 19, 38, 25-28.