Lafayette Land Grant

During the American Revolution, Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette loaned money to the government of the United States.

To help Lafayette after the French Revolution, the United States gave the marquis $24,000 followed by land in what is now Louisiana in 1803.

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 by President John Quincy Adams on July 4, 1825.

However, by the 1830s, several Frenchmen who knew Lafayette, including Prince Achille Murat, nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, had moved to the area.