TheLafayette Land Grant was a gift by the government of the United States of just over 23,000 acres (93 km2) ofreal estate in centralLeon County,Florida,United States.
During theAmerican Revolution,Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette loaned money to the government of the United States. To help Lafayette after theFrench Revolution, the United States gave the marquis $24,000 followed by land in what is nowLouisiana in 1803. In 1824, another $200,000 and his choice of atownship worth of land was given around the time of hisvisit to the United States in 1824-25.
Lafayette chose land near his friendRichard Keith Call. Col.John McKee of Alabama was given the task of traveling to Florida and selecting Lafayette's piece of land. The warrant officially giving Lafayette the land was signed byPresidentJohn Quincy Adams on July 4, 1825.[1][better source needed] The land included what is nowLake Lafayette within that tract.[2] The Southwest corner of the Lafayette grant is marked by a monument inTallahassee,Florida, which also serves as a survey marker for theTallahassee Meridian. Two additional markers also lay along the boundary -- one on Gadsden Street in the city's LaFayette Park and a second one between Apalachee Parkway and LaFayette St, at the intersection of E. Indianhead Drive.
Lafayette never visited his land in Florida. However, by the 1830s, several Frenchmen who knew Lafayette, includingPrince Achille Murat, nephew ofNapoleon Bonaparte, had moved to the area.[3] They foundnorth Florida's subtropical climate far too warm. Some of these settlers returned to France and others moved to the historically French city ofNew Orleans. By 1855, all the land included in the Lafayette Township (over 23,000 acres) had been sold to individual buyers. Today it is home to a number of neighborhoods, includingLafayette Oaks.
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