Henry M. Brackenridge, Alaqua, Walton Judge, Florida's 1st Forester

As one of the earliest land grant holders in Walton County, an early judge for West Florida which included Walton County, and perhaps one of the earliest environmentalists in the State of Florida as well as Florida’s first federal forester, it is important you know Henry Marie Brackenridge.


Here are some pictures I've taken and documents I've collected that relate to his time here in Walton County and West Florida. Be sure to Log In to see all pictures and illustrations.


Henry M. Brackenridge’s 1829 grant in Walton County, Florida. This influential judge had one of the earliest land grants in Walton County. He was friends with George Walton, Jr., Walton County, Florida’s namesake. Brackenridge tutored Octavia Walton and would also know her as Madame Octavia Walton Le Vert. Their correspondence reveals a deep and enduring friendship. Octavia wrote many letters. One to Ellen Call Long may be accessed at http://www.floridamemory.com/Collect...pers/index.cfm Octavia is responding to Ellen about Pensacola questions and relaying family concerns.
Brackenridge's land grant pictured here was in the Alaqua area, an early county seat for Walton County. This Alaqua area is up near DeFuniak Springs close to Interstate 10 and 331. Brackenridge worked with and had joint land holdings with Richard Keith Call. Call would later become Governor of Territorial Florida.


Brackenridge and Richard Keith Call conducted early Florida business near this statue of Andrew Jackson in Pensacola, Florida. Jackson named Brackenridge the Alcalde and Notary of Pensacola according to Dr. Brian Rucker, University of West Florida and Pensacola Junior College history professor. Call would later become Governor of Florida. Of course, George Walton, Jr., served as Acting Governor for a brief time after Territorial Florida Governor Jackson left Florida. In 1822, Brackenridge was a member of Florida's first territorial legislative council. However, according to Rucker, Brackenridge soon resigned as he "was appointed by President Monroe as federal judge for the district of West Florida." Walton County would be formed in 1824 and be under this West Florida jurisdiction.


Brackenridge, a tutor of Octavia Walton and early Florida Judge, would probably be quite familiar with “The Walton House” in Pensacola, Florida. This home once served as the Dorothy Walton Museum and was sold to Pensacola for $1 by its former owner, T.T. (Tom) Wentworth, Jr. (My Great Uncle Tom).

Brackenridge, whose family was also among the early patriots of America, would have known Dorothy Walton, wife of Declaration of Independence Signer George Walton. The Sons of the American Revolution and the Daughters of the American Revolution, dedicated the gravesite of Dorothy Walton at St. Michael's Cemetery in Pensacola. Dorothy's son was George Walton, Jr., secretary for West Florida in 1821, acting governor and then secretary for the territory of Florida until 1826. Dorothy's husband, George Walton the signer, had died in 1804 and had not moved to Florida from Georgia with the rest of the family. Dorothy died in 1832.


Wentworth’s collection is now housed in the T.T. Wentworth, Jr. Florida State Museum in Pensacola, Florida.


The Anderson Homestead in Alaqua, Florida was probably known to Henry M. Brackenridge. Brackenridge's Walton County, Florida land grant was near here. The first two land grants in Walton County were in 1828 and signed by President John Quincy Adams. Hardy Wood's grant was in Alaqua and Catherine McLennon was near Big Branch. The following year, 1829, about 33 land grants were signed by President Andrew Jackson. Brackenridge had arrived in Florida in 1821 with Jackson and was involved with land grants and acquisitions. Brackenridge and Richard Keith Call were rewarded for their duties and acquired some prime land grants, including over a thousand acres of prime timber land on Santa Rosa Peninsula.


The Steele Church and the Alaqua Methodist Church (marker says 1827) were also near Henry M. Brackenridge’s land grant in Alaqua, Walton County. Henry M. Brackenridge wrote several letters to his wife, Caroline, one being from Alaqua, Florida. The original letters are at Pittsburg University Library with copies in the University of West Florida archives in Pensacola.



Henry M. Brackenridge was perhaps Florida’s first federal forester. He developed and oversaw the Naval Live Oak Preserve. His environmental efforts would later cause conflict with President Andrew Jackson. Brackenridge had served under Territorial Governor Andrew Jackson. This portrait is in the Gulf Islands National Seashore Visitor Center near Pensacola. The Naval Live Oaks Reserve is across Highway 98 from this center. Brackenridge and Richard Keith Call owned hundreds of acres in the area (one tract was 1360 acres).


This trail guide is in the Naval Live Oak Reserve. The Brackenridge Trail is nearby. You won't see any old large oak trees, but you can walk the trails and look across to Pensacola and see the view that Brackenridge enjoyed.


Santa Rosa Sound view from Brackenridge Trail in Naval Live Oak Reserve (NLO) area on north side of 98. You need to know to look for "NLO" as there was no sign on 98 that said turn here for Naval Live Oak Reserve. It just said "NLO."


Dr. Rucker wrote in his dissertation for The Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, p. 93 :

“… There, in 1821, he decided to go to New Orleans and seek out General Andrew Jackson who had just recently been appointed the first American governor of Florida. Brackenridge caught up with Jackson’s entourage and was asked by the famous general to serve as his civilian secretary and translator. Jackson recognized that Brackenridge’s legal training, diplomatic skills, and knowledge of Spanish and Spanish law would prove invaluable in the successful transfer of the Spanish government in Florida to the new American government. .. .” (12) Keller and Newlin William F. Keller, “Henry Marie Brackenridge: First United States Forester,” Journal of Forest History and Claude M. Newlin, “Henry Marie Brackenridge,” Dictionary of American Biography, and Keller’s Nation’s Advocate.



Tomorrow I hope to drive across the recently reopened Gulf Islands National Seashore road and visit the Naval Live Oaks Reserve section. I'll also visit the T.T. Wentworth Jr. Museum in Pensacola and view the new "Pensacolians and the Civil War" exhibit. With the development of iron ships for the Civil War navies, the need for oak ships ended and thus the need for trees from the oak reserve. The Wentworth museum is open Tuesday - Saturday, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. The national parks are usually open until sunset.


My great-great grandfather, James Hamilton Wentworth, was captured at Gettysburg and is buried in Pensacola's St. Johns Cemetery. He should be featured in the Civil War exhibit at his grandson's museum.


James Hamilton Wentworth is featured in the new Confederate exhibit at the T.T. Wentworth, Jr. Florida State Museum in Pensacola, Florida. I'll have to go back and read his letters written while a prisoner. He was captured at the Battle of Gettysburg. Wonder if he talked about the oaks at Brackenridge's preserve. He certainly would have been aware of the oaks and Brackenridge. Brackenridge had moved from Pensacola some time ago, while James Hamilton Wentworth is buried there in St. Johns Cemetery.


There would have been several ways for Brackenridge and others to travel across Walton County from Pensacola to Tallahassee, St. Augustine and beyond. One early road cut across Santa Rosa Island or Peninsula and then across what is now South Walton. Many of the roads in the north converged in Alaqua before continuing. Walton County was one of the earliest counties in Florida and was founded December 29, 1824. Walton County is named for George Walton, Jr., one of Brackenridge's friends and fellow early Florida territorial leader. Call, Brackenridge's land partner, was to have a county named for him in 1828 per an act of the territorial council, but the governor did not approve that portion of the act. This 1837 map was by J. Lee Williams. Note that Escambia and Walton counties are adjacent at this time. Other counties you may know today were not formed until years later. Florida now has 67 counties.


This is an oak tree near the visitor's center of the Gulf Islands National Seashore and Naval Live Oak Preserve. It is said that none of the trees from Brackenridge's time survived. This is perhaps a related tree. Maybe one of the older trees will be discovered. If you want to see large, very old Live Oak Trees, you can visit Eden State Gardens in Pt. Washington of South Walton, Walton County. Several are noted to be over 500 years old.


This is a great way to get from SoWal to Pensacola. The Gulf Islands National Seashore Road (renamed Bowden) is beautiful. The trip to see Brackenridge's land is less than two hours. You then just have to cross over the bridge into Pensacola. We did not pay a toll to cross the bridge at Navarre, nor from the island back up to Highway 98. There was a toll booth for those traveling south from Pensacola onto the island. You can also see the bike path. I would imagine that there is often sand on both the road and bike path.


This is the scenic drive you see for miles and miles. It is very exciting that this road has reopened. Ft. Pickens is also accessible by road once again. After Hurricane Ivan, until the recent reopening of the Ft. Pickens Road, you had quite a hike to see the historic fort. Now, you can drive right up and view a number of historic and scenic points of interest. A great day trip from South Walton and another reason to extend your stay.


Ft. Pickens once again has easy car access. This is close to Brackenridge's NLO. The parking lot is near here and on level ground. You don't have to climb these stairs!!! But, you can if you want to.


The national and state parks systems do a great job with their signs. They are often wood and fit into the natural landscape.


You'll easily spot the Ft. Pickens Road as it is near the well known Pensacola Beach Ball Water Tower.


Ft. Pickens entrance. End of the road. You'll turn off the Gulf Islands National Seashore Road on to the road to Ft. Pickens. You can travel down the Ft. Pickens road a short distance before reaching the Park Ranger Station. We paid an $8 fee which was good for the week. Even though we were only going to use the pass for the day, it was well worth the money. Now that the road is open again, would probably be worth it to get an annual pass. I think is was around $35, but would have to confirm.


This "Bracken" house was once located in the Alaqua area, near where Judge Brackenridge conducted the early territorial business of Walton County, Florida. I heard it was recently dismantled and moved. Lots more research needed here. Believe old graveyards accessible behind this lot. Photograph by Brenda Rees 2004

Here are extensive notes from Dr. Brian Rucker's dissertation. They will increase your appreciation and understanding of Henry Marie Brackenridge and the leadership he provided to a young Walton County from Alaqua. Brian and I enjoy discussing West Florida history. We are both multi-generational West Florida natives.


Copied with permission from Dr. Brian R. Rucker 8-11-2009





































Page 92

With the American acquisition of Florida in 1821, a few American settlers began crossing Pensacola Bay to Deer Point. One of the first and most important of these early American settlers was Henry Marie Brackenridge. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1786, the young Brackenridge grew up with both a “book learning” education and experience in travel on the frontier. At the age of seven his family sent him by flatboat down the Mississippi to Louisiana to learn French. Three years later he returned to Pittsburgh and continued his education, finally studying law and being admitted to the bar in 1806. Eventually he wandered westward to St. Louis, eagerly delving into natural history, geography, and the Spanish language. In 1811, Brackenridge made a voyage up the Missouri River with the Spanish frontiersman Manuel Lisa, making botanical observations during the trip. The experience of the trip gave birth to his first book, Views of Louisiana; Together with a Journal of a Voyage up the Missouri River, in 1811. Brackenridge then went south to New Orleans where he studied Spanish law. While in Louisiana, he helped frame the legislative act which established the state’s judiciary system. Subsequently, he served as deputy attorney general and district judge. In 1817, President James Monroe appointed Brackenridge secretary of a diplomatic commission sent to South America to study the political question of recognizing independence of the new Latin American republics. From 1817-

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1818, he visited Rio de Janeiro, Montevideo, and Buenos Aires, returning to Maryland with a new book describing the voyage and urging American recognition of the new South American states. (11)
Brackenridge spent a short time in the Maryland legislature but then once again returned to St. Louis. There, in 1821, he decided to go to New Orleans and seek out General Andrew Jackson who had just recently been appointed the first American governor of Florida. Brackenridge caught up with Jackson’s entourage and was asked by the famous general to serve as his civilian secretary and translator. Jackson recognized that Brackenridge’s legal training, diplomatic skills, and knowledge of Spanish and Spanish law would prove invaluable in the successful transfer of the Spanish government in Florida to the new American government. Brackenridge arrived with Jackson in Pensacola in 1821, and during the first few months was indeed able to partially calm some explosive confrontations between Jackson and the outgoing Spanish governor, Jose Cavalla. (12)
Jackson quickly appointed Brackenridge the alcalde and notary of Pensacola. As an alcalde, the chief administration and judicial officer in a Spanish town, Brackenridge had the unenviable position of restoring order cut of the legal and administrative chaos of Pensacola’s transition government. But he performed the task admirably, quit the following year, and began to operate a law partnership with

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Richard Keith Call. In June 1822, Brackenridge was appointed a member of Florida’s first territorial legislative council, but he resigned almost immediately when he was appointed by President Monroe as federal judge for the district of West Florida. (13) The same year, Brackenridge also purchased a considerable portion of property at Deer Point – 800 arpents with law partner Richard K. Call and an adjacent 800-arpent tract by himself. (14) It was here on Santa Rosa peninsula that Judge Henry M. Brackenridge found an ideal retreat from Pensacola across the bay. In 1822 he began building a house fronting the Sound and was intent on improving his tract and conducting agricultural and horticultural experiments. (15) Brackenridge fell in love with the live oak covered peninsula and was a vigorous proponent for internal improvements, including a ferry service, a road from Pensacola to Tallahassee via Santa Rosa peninsula, agricultural experimentation, and eventually a revolutionary live oak forestry plantation. A firm believer in progress, the optimistic Brackenridge enthusiastically supported attempts “to make something of our barren sands in this neighborhood” by utilizing West Florida’s natural resources in the most practical manner. (16) Yet one of the first public projects to appear on Deer Point emphasized a chronic nineteenth century worry of southern seaports – yellow fever.
The true nature of yellow fever was not understood by physicians and scientists throughout the antebellum era; it …

Pages 95 and 96 detail the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1822
Pages 97 and 98 detail early transportation development on Santa Rosa Peninsula

Page 98

…Overland transportation was also needed for the full development of West Florida, and soon after the American acquisition plans were set in motion to connect the major cities of Florida. An east-west road from St. Augustine to Tallahassee to Pensacola was envisioned, and in 1823 Captain Daniel E. Burch, Assistant Quarter Master of the U.S. Army at Pensacola, was ordered to prepare a survey of the best possible routes. In his survey, Burch considered a northern route that entailed crossing the head of Escambia Bay to Floridatown and proceeding northeasterly from there to the Choctawhatchee River. However, because of the poor and undependable ferry service at Floridatown, a southern and more direct route was chosen. This route, though it entailed constructing an entirely new road, was seen as shorter and more convenient. It would commence at Deer Point opposite Pensacola and then follow an old Indian trail eastward to Choctawhatchee Bay. The road would then generally skirt the northern shore of Choctawhatchee Bay, proceed to the Walton County settlement of Alaqua, and then continue eastward to the Choctawhatchee River and Tallahassee. There were only two problems with this route – the region it fell in was sparsely populated and the road had to cross numerous creeks and swampy lands near the coast. 29
Preparations were made in 1824 for the construction of the road. It was intended that the road would be cleared sufficient enough “for a wagon to pass with ease,” and
Page 100 Hand drawn map of Santa Rosa Peninsula

Page 101

Average width eventually ranged from 15 to 25 feet. Bridges, however, were required for the numerous creeks, and ditches and log causeways has to be laid through the lower, swampier lands. 30 Burch recruited seventy soldiers from the U.S. Army troops stationed at Fort Barrancas and Cantonment Clinch in Pensacola to serve as laborers, and the road was commonly referred to as “the Military Road.” Work on the road commenced at Deer Point on October 4, 1824, and work progressed smoothly as the soldiers cleared the trail which led eastward along the high ground in the center of the peninsula. By the end of the month, 35 miles of the road had been opened, and by March 1825, Burch’s men had reached the “Cow Ford” on the Choctawhatchee River. 31
By 1826, the entire road from Pensacola to St. Augustine was opened. 32 As a means of transportation, however, it was quite primitive. Tree stumps were left in the middle of the road but were cut low enough to prevent wagons, carts, or stages from becoming wedged or “stumped.” In swampy spots, pine poles were cut, laid in the mud, and used for causeways. 33 Bridges could easily be washed out, and repairs were often necessary. By 1829, the military was already making repairs to this southern route; the road was subsequently reported adequate enough for stages to travel between Deer Point and Alaqua, Walton County. 34 Nevertheless, by the late 1820s, the southern route had largely been discarded by travelers. …

Page 102 Road information

Page 103 Development, Navy, Arsenal

Page 104 Early Settlers on Santa Rosa Peninsula

Page 105 …

Judge Brackenridge was especially interested in converting his Deer Point property into a type of agricultural station. Brackenridge acquired his tract of property shortly after his arrival in Pensacola, and he soon used the site as a retreat from the yellow fever epidemic of 1822. He began erecting a six-room frame dwelling and other outbuildings on a high bluff overlooking Santa Rosa Sound, a site which had been utilized by Indians for over a thousand years. 48 Brackenridge’s house was one story with a large passage running through the center and a porch on both the front and the back of the house. A log kitchen stood nearby, along with a stable and several other small outhouses. Here he fenced seven acres and began growing corn, peas, beans, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, and watermelons. Brackenridge experimented with the sandy soil, using decayed oyster shells and other materials for fertilizer. In 1824, he was able to grow 3,000 watermelons, some weighing as much as twenty pounds. The judge also set aside four or five acres for pasturage and raised pigs with a varying degree of success. 49
Though Brackenridge’s position as a judge often took him from his Deer Point retreat, he enthusiastically spent his spare time conducting agricultural experiments on his plantation. As a proponent of new crops for the area to improve the agricultural and economic status of the region, he

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Introduced a number of both practical and exotic plants to his Deer Point home. Various promoters of West Florida encouraged such offbeat projects as the cultivation of teak trees, oriental oak, yucca plants (for rope), genista myrtle bushes (for wax), indigo plants, prickly pears, and cochineal bugs (for dye). 50 Brackenridge avoided these more exotic projects but did successfully cultivate guinea grass, a tall African forage grass. 51 Fruit trees were Brackenridge’s passion, especially orange trees. Around 1825 he planted a wide variety of fruit trees around his Deer Point home – figs, peaches, lemons, pomegranates, almonds, olives, and oranges, as well as ornamental shrubberies. Brackenridge apparently acquired most of these various plants from the William Prince Nursery on Long Island, New York, whose agent in Pensacola was W. Hasell Hunt, the editor of the Pensacola Gazette. 52 Brackenridge especially took delight in his orange trees, having planted them by seed and later transplanted them from his nursery. By 1828 he had a sizable orange grove with the trees four to six feet high and beginning to bear. Brackenridge was so encouraged that he planned a grove of one thousand trees. 53
Brackenridge’s judicial obligations (he was twice reappointed judge of West Florida) delayed the completion of his house and gardens. He had to rely on poor and often drunken help, and he experienced some financuial difficulties as well. His frequent trips to court across the panhandle

Page 107 Employment of Samuel Davis, Sarah E. Davis, their five children

Page 108 Brackenridge’s Opinion of Mrs. Davis, Tutoring of Children, Including Walton Girl

Page 109

… Brackenridge, in his many travels, returned to his native Pennsylvania in early 1827 to marry Miss Caroline Marie, a longtime sweetheart. On March 22 of that year, the two were married in Philadelphia by Rev. Jacob C. Sears. Brackenridge brought his thirty-one year old bride back to Pensacola, but Caroline soon fell sick and displayed no interest in remaining in Florida. He sent her back to Philadelphia for her health and soon became quite lonely without her and wrote her numerous letters. Brackenridge grew increasingly dispirited, especially when another yellow fever epidemic struck Pensacola in the fall of 1827. By early 1828, Brackenridge considered leaving Florida entirely and selling his Deer Point property to the federal government for a proposed naval live oak reservation. Yet it was this project which soon captured Brackenridge’s enthusiasm and energy, leading him to stay on the peninsula with a unique position as the nation’s first forestry agent. 62
Live oak, which grows only along the southern coastal areas of the United States, had long been valued as a prime shipbuilding material. In the age of wooden ships, the United States Navy was especially interested in acquiring sizable supplies of the wood, a goal complicated because of the limited quantity of the live oak available and the prevalence of heavy logging of the wood. Before 1800, live oak resources were quite limited in the United States, and

Page 111 (Page 110 not included) Pictures by Dr. Rucker of Brackenridge’s home site and Naval Live Oak Plantation.

Page 112 Live Oak Program
Page 113 Brackenridge Sells Land for $2,200
Page 114 Brackenridge Remorse About Selling Land and Progress of Orange Trees

Page 115
…
Brackenridge began a correspondence with Southard which eventually evolved into a revolutionary forestry program. Brackenridge asked Southard to appoint him as an agent to “superintend and direct the plantation of live oak.” Brackenridge mentioned his own background in botany as appropriate credentials for such a post and presented scientific reports which described the history of live oak and its uses and the various methods to successfully cultivate the tree. Brackenridge basically suggested a revolutionary experimental forestry station devoted to the growing of live oak trees for use by the U.S. Navy. 73
Brackenridge’s letters extolled the advantages which Santa Rosa peninsula possessed for a live oak reservation and he also pointed out some of the current problems of live oak conservation. The judge described the thousands of small live oaks growing on the peninsula which could easily be transplanted and cultivated under supervision and care. Brackenridge pointed out the close proximity of the peninsula to the new navy yard and the ease with which water transportation could transport the live oak to the station where it could then be stored and used for repairs of ship construction. He also encouraged Southard to purchase even more land on the peninsula and extend the reservation some fifteen miles eastward to Williams’ Creek (present-day Navarre). …

…

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… With the departure of Henry Marie Brackenridge, the Deer Point experiment to cultivate live oak trees came to an end. Secretary of the Navy Woodbury placed the plantation under the superintendency of the commandant of the Pensacola Navy Yard and a caretaker was stationed at the site. But no more live oaks were planted, and Woodbury simply ordered that what Brackenridge had started be preserved. The judge never returned to Florida, although former Florida governor William P. Duval once urged him to try and obtain an appointment as Florida’s territorial governor in the early 1840s. Brackenridge, however, dabbled little in politics after 1832, contenting himself with private business and literature. Brackenridge lived a full life, dying in 1871, and left behind a substantial legacy. His years along Santa Rosa Sound were characterized by optimism, activity, and insight. In addition to his political duties, Brackenridge actively promoted a ferry service to Deer Point, a southern route for the military road, agricultural and horticultural experimentation, and the first United States forestry station. There along Santa Rosa peninsula, amid the numerous live oak stands, Brackenridge actively promoted forest conservation and the rational use of natural resources in a frontier age which saw enormous waste and the destruction of countless square miles of seemingly inexhaustible trees. 91 Unfortunately, few listened to Brackenridge’s visionary opinions on the conservation of live oak forests, and fewer still paused at the uncontrolled harvest of the yellow pine forests which lined Blackwater River and other areas in the northern portion of Santa Rosa. …