The period of 1825 to 1839 was an era of frontier development in
Florida, and also one of land speculation which reached a furious
pitch by the late 1830s. By 1837-38, planters were paying ten and
twelve dollars an acre for land which had been selling for one and
two dollars. The Union Bank of Florida in Tallahassee played an
important role in the speculation, lending at high interest rates and
requiring little or no security on loans. By 1840, the national finan-
cial crisis of 1837 had begun to affect Middle Florida, with the re-
sult that some planters lost their holdings and the Union Bank went
out of business. The years which followed are generally considered
a time of depression. The price of cotton remained low, and the
economy of the nation as a whole had not fully recovered.

During the late 1840s the economy rallied, and for the remainder
of the antebellum period, throughout the cotton belt of the slave-
holding states, there was economic prosperity. This was especially
evident in Florida among the members of the planter class. Their
standard of living rose as they adjusted their tastes and habits to an
expanded cotton economy. Newer and finer dwellings replaced the
log cabins and frame cottages of the frontier and depression era.
Sterling silverware, linen sheets, and expensive horses and carriages
were typical accessories. Vacationing at resorts to escape the sum-
mer heat became commonplace. Daughters and sons were sent to
boarding schools and universities in adjoining states or in the North.

-122-