His recommendation against a Negro colony in Florida garnered local political support in future years.

[5] Having toured the state for several months, Gleason was one of the early post-war visitors to realize the great potential for business.

The board originated in Congress with the 1850 Internal Improvement Act that granted certain swamp and overflow lands to the states.

Developers like Gleason were allowed to purchase 640 acres (260 ha) of state land for $40 in consideration for every 50,000 cubic feet (1,400 m3) of ditching completed.

He proposed to rechannel and deepen Eau Gallie's Elbow Creek and extend the waterway to Lake Washington.

The state's payment for this work was set at $4000 plus 4,000 acres (1,600 ha) for every mile (10 km² per km) of canal constructed.

[7] During the late 1860s and 1870s, Gleason traveled between his Fort Dallas residence and Tallahassee, seeking business and political connections.

After several attempts by the governor to obtain Dade County's returns, locals realized that Gleason had possession of them but had forgotten to mail them before going on a hunting expedition.

[11] In 1871, Gleason proposed the idea of the state's first Agricultural College to be located in the Eau Gallie section of Melbourne, Florida.

Gleason offered a 2,320-acre (940 ha) donation of intermittent swamp lands east of Lake Washington to the Trustees of the Florida Agricultural College if they would select Eau Gallie as the school's campus.

Remnants of the old campus are located off of present day Pineapple Avenue (formerly part of U.S. 1), north of Eau Gallie Boulevard.

[citation needed] Sensing legal difficulties in Dade County, Gleason moved his wife and two teenage sons to the unused campus of Eau Gallie's Agricultural College during 1882 and 1883 and began a sawmill and boat-building business.

Gleason's "donated" west Eau Gallie land was returned to him, and in exchange, the governor agreed to pay $2,000 for the small college building and campus.