Legislative Council of the Territory of Florida
The Legislative Council of the Territory of Florida, often referred to as the Florida Territorial Council or Florida Territorial Legislative Council, was the legislative body governing the American territory of Florida (Florida Territory) before statehood. The territory of Florida was acquired by the U.S. in 1821 under the Adams–Onís Treaty. Replacing the form of martial law that had existed in the territory since Florida was acquired, the U.S. Congress in 1822 established a territorial government consisting of a governor, secretary, thirteen-member Legislative Council, and judiciary, all of whom were appointed by the U.S. president.
History of Leon County, Florida
On March 30, 1822, the United States merged East Florida and part of West Florida into the Florida Territory. Originally part of Escambia and later Gadsden County, Leon County was created in 1824. It was named for the Juan Ponce de León, Spanish explorer who was the first European to reach Florida.Leon County in the 1820s and 1830s was the destination of a number of northern planters. Besides the aforementioned R.K. Call and John Branch, names such as Francis W. Eppes, William Bailey, the Chaires brothers, the Bradford brothers, George Taliaferro Ward, and many others began large cotton plantations in Leon County. At the center of what was then called Middle Florida, there was much less population than in East Florida and West Florida, and no problem with the memories of the more lenient treatment of slaves under Spain. Building a plantation, slave-based economy in Middle Florida was much easier.