The Florida Land and Colonization Company (FLCC) was a joint-stock venture that invested in Florida land development and sales in the 1880s and early 1890s. The company was formed by Henry Shelton Sanford (1823-1891) with help from a group of British investors. The original impetus for the company's formation was Sanford's inability to continue his land acquisition and development efforts in Florida independently. In 1879, faced with financial difficulties, Sanford turned to a trusted associate in the United Kingdom, a Scottish industrialist named Sir William Mackinnon (1823-1893), to help him attract investors. The formation of the company was in large part due to the efforts of MacKinnon, whose reputation and influence helped bring investors on board.

Located at 13 Austin Friars, the company was officially registered in London on June 10, 1880. With the formation of the FLCC, all of Henry Sanford's Florida properties were transferred to the company in exchange for a £10,000 cash payment and another £50,000 in company stock. The one-time cash payment was a needed reprieve for Sanford, who faced financial difficulties by the end of the 1870s. The board of directors included Mackinnon, as well as W. C. Gray and Edwyn Sandys Dawes, partners in Gray-Dawes and Company, a London-based banking and investment house. Other directors included Alexander Fraser, Anthony Norris, George A. Thomson, and Eli Lee. Sanford was named President and Chairman of the Board. In 1880, the company owned 26,000 acres scattered across Florida, including in the cities of Jacksonville, St. Augustine, and Sanford, as well as in Alachua County and Marion County.

Almost from the outset, there was serious friction between the British board members and Henry Sanford. Disagreements erupted over business strategy, as Sanford frequently proposed initiatives deemed too bold for the cautious British investors. From 1882 to 1892, the company saw steady, if meager, profits. Most of its income came from the sale of lots in the city of Sanford. From 1885 until 1890, the company, while remaining solvent, continued to see declining profits. From 1886 to 1890, the profits were so modest that the company declined to pay dividends on its yearly profits. Needed improvements and developments in the city of Sanford during the late 1880s sapped much of the company's income. Following Henry Sanford's death in 1891, many of the investors lost the motivation to continue. On September 15, 1892, the various directors acted to dissolve the company. Its assets, including roughly 65,000 acres of Florida land, were divided among shareholders.]]> Sanford Museum, Sanford, Florida.]]> Sanford Museum, Sanford, Florida.]]> Florida Land Colonization Company Collection, Henry Shelton Sanford Papers Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.]]> Adobe Acrobat Reader]]> Connecticut Historical Society after 1901.]]> Tennessee State Library and Archives for processing until June 1, 1960.]]> Sanford Museum in 1960.]]> Sanford Museum in Sanford, Florida. Rights to this item belong to the said institution, and therefore inquiries about the item should be directed there. RICHES of Central Florida has obtained permission from the Sanford Museum to display this item for educational purposes only.]]>
Beardall was an Englishman who worked for the Florida Land and Colonization Company (FLCC) at its local office in Sanford, Florida. He served as an assistant to the company agent, E. R. Trafford. Beardall had worked previously for the Scottish industrialist Sir William MacKinnon before joining the FLCC. The FLCC was a joint-stock venture that invested in Florida land development and sales in the 1880s and early 1890s. The company was formed by Henry Shelton Sanford with help from a group of British investors. Located at 13 Austin Friars in London, the company was officially registered in London on June 10, 1880. With the formation of the FLCC, all of Henry Sanford's Florida properties were transferred to the company in exchange for a ₤10,000 cash payment and another ₤50,000 in company stock. Sanford was named President and Chairman of the Board. In 1880, the company owned 26,000 acres scattered across Florida, including in the cities of Jacksonville, St. Augustine, and Sanford, as well as in Alachua and Marion counties.

Almost from the outset, there was serious friction between the British board members and Henry Sanford. Disagreements erupted over business strategy, as Sanford frequently proposed initiatives deemed too bold for the cautious British investors. As a result of consistently meager profits from its inception, following Henry Sanford's death in 1891 many of the investors lost the motivation to continue. On September 15, 1892, the various directors acted to dissolve the company. Its assets, including roughly 65,000 acres of Florida land, were divided among shareholders.]]> Sanford Museum, Sanford, Florida.]]> Sanford Museum, Sanford, Florida.]]> Florida Land Colonization Company Collection, Henry Shelton Sanford Papers Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.]]> Adobe Acrobat Reader]]> Connecticut Historical Society after 1901.]]> Tennessee State Library and Archives for processing until June 1, 1960.]]> Sanford Museum in 1960.]]> Sanford Museum in Sanford, Florida. Rights to this item belong to the said institution, and therefore inquiries about the item should be directed there. RICHES of Central Florida has obtained permission from the Sanford Museum to display this item for educational purposes only.]]>
Dawes was one of the founding partners of Gray Dawes and Company, a London-based company founded in 1865 by business partners Archie Gray and Edwyn Sandys Dawes (1838-1903). Located at 13 Austin Friars in London, England, the company was focused, at least initially, on maritime insurance. By the mid-1870s, the company had also expanded its operations into shipping, overseeing a fleet of steamships that circulated within a trade network including London, Calcutta, Madras, and elsewhere. The company was closely linked to the Scottish shipping titan, Sir William MacKinnon (1823-1893). Gray was Mackinnon's nephew. Dawes, meanwhile, went on to become a close and trusted business partner to MacKinnon. As such, the firm became a useful means for MacKinnon to reward his friends and business associates. The company availed insurance accounts to these select individuals, accounts that could be used as a source of credit to be paid at a later date. The company became associated with Henry Shelton Sanford thanks to the mutual connection to MacKinnon. In 1880, MacKinnon lent Sanford, who was faced at the time with financial difficulties, some £8,000 to facilitate the founding of a Florida land investment company. The money offered by MacKinnon was in fact loaned to Sanford by Gray Dawes and Company. Additionally, at the behest of MacKinnon, both Gray and Dawes became reluctant subscribers to Sanford’s land investment scheme, the Florida Land and Colonization Company.]]> Sanford Museum, Sanford, Florida.]]> Sanford Museum, Sanford, Florida.]]> Florida Land Colonization Company Collection, Henry Shelton Sanford Papers Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.]]> Adobe Acrobat Reader]]> Connecticut Historical Society after 1901.]]> Tennessee State Library and Archives for processing until June 1, 1960.]]> Sanford Museum in 1960.]]> Sanford Museum in Sanford, Florida. Rights to this item belong to the said institution, and therefore inquiries about the item should be directed there. RICHES of Central Florida has obtained permission from the Sanford Museum to display this item for educational purposes only.]]>