A map of Florida created by J. Lee Williams when the area was a U.S. territory in 1837. Florida came under American control on March 30, 1822, with Tallahassee as its capital. Much of Florida's territorial history is marked by conflict with Seminole tribes. When the United States first gained the territory, many Seminoles and free blacks migrated to Central Florida, South Florida, Cuba, or the Bahamas. In 1832, the federal government and a number of Seminole chiefs signed the Treaty of Payne's Landing. The terms of the agreement promised the Seminoles land west of the Mississippi River if they agreed to leave the Florida Territory voluntarily. The U.S. Army began enforcing the treaty in 1835, leading to the Dade Massacre and the Second Seminole War, led primarily by Osceola (born Billy Powell). The war ended in 1842 with the forced exile of most Seminoles. Florida became a state three years later in 1845.
Creator
Williams, J. Lee
Source
Original map by J. Lee Williams, 1837: Leonard Pugh Collection.