Chartered in 1890, the Suwannee Canal Company (also seen as the Suwanee Canal Company) had attempted to drain the

Okefenokee Swamp The Okefenokee Swamp is a shallow, 438,000-acre (177,000 ha), peat-filled wetland straddling the Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia–Florida line in the United States. A majority of the swamp is protected by the Okefenokee National Wildlife Ref ...

. The company had hoped that they could sell the drained land for various agricultural plantations. The company also built a

cypress Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs from the ''Cupressus'' genus of the '' Cupressaceae'' family, typically found in temperate climates and subtropical regions of Asia, Europe, and North America. The word ''cypress'' ...

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

and the Brunswick and Pensacola Railroad to haul the lumber. The company went bankrupt in 1897.

History

There was an early attempt to survey and sell land in the Okekenokee swamp through a

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

state land in the early 1800s, though many of these lots were not claimed. Starting in the early 1850s, various land speculators attempted acquisition of swap land from Georgia, yet most of these contracts were never completed and the land reverted to the state. In 1889, the Georgia Legislature approved a plan to auction the swamp and requested bids for the state land on March 18, 1890. The winning bid of 26.5 cents per acre was tendered by

syndics ''Syndic'' (; Greek: ) is a term applied in certain countries to an officer of government with varying powers, and secondly to a representative or delegate of a university, institution or other corporation, entrusted with special functions or po ...

Henry Jackson, Frank Coxe, Marshall A. Phillips, H.S. Little, and PMB Young, who incorporated as the Suwannee Canal Company.Trowell and Izlar (1984), p. 188.

References

Bibliography

* Canals in Florida 1890 establishments in Florida {{US-hist-stub