Spanish land grants in Florida

The United States agreed to honor these land grants when it gained control of the territory, provided that they were shown to be valid.

In 1819, under the terms of the Adams-Onís Treaty, Spain ceded Florida to the United States in exchange for $5 million and the American renunciation of any claims on Texas that they might have from the Louisiana Purchase.

Dossiers were assembled for each land parcel, consisting of survey plats, deeds, wills, royal grants, and other documents supporting the claims.

[2] In 1942, the Spanish land grants were first published by the Work Projects Administration's (WPA) Florida Historical Records Survey.

More recently, the State Library and Archives of Florida published digitized copies of the land grants online.

A single page from the Spanish land grant claim of Spanish nobleman John B. Gaudry, who founded a plantation near DeLeon Springs, Florida after he received a land grant in 1807. This is page 8 of 53, depicting a parcel of land adjacent to the St. Johns River .