Pine Barrens speculation

From 1789 to 1796, Georgia governors George Walton, Edward Telfair and, George Mathews, while in office, made gifts of land grants covering more than three times as much land as Georgia then contained. In all they made grants of 29,097,866 acres (117,755 km²) of land in counties that consisted of only 8,717,960 acres (35,280 km²).

In Montgomery County alone, with an area of 407,680 acres (1,650 km²), three men received land grants totalling 2,664,000 acres (10,780 km²). All the grants given in Montgomery County totalled 7,436,995 acres (30,096 km²). While single grants were limited to a maximum of 1,000 acres (4 km²) per person, multiple 1,000-acre (4 km²) grants were given to individuals.

The Pine Barrens Speculation is often conflated with the Yazoo land scandal, which occurred at about the same time. In that case, the legislature authorized sales of millions of acres of land at low prices, to enable speculation by political insiders. It led to a landmark US Supreme Court decision in 1810, Fletcher v. Peck. The Yazoo land scandal dealt with land in Georgia and present-day Mississippi.

Further reading

• Abbe, Mary Hoit. Georgia Colonial and Headright Plat Index, 1735-1866 [electronic resource] (2005).
• Cadle, Farris W. Georgia Land Surveying History and Law (1991). Athens, Ga.: University of Georgia Press.

Large Pine Barrens land grants

The following is a list of individuals who were each granted 100,000 acres (400 km²) or more during the Pine Barrens speculation. It is based on unpublished original research by Paul K. Graham (used with permission).

1. Adam Alford, Montgomery County, 209,000 acres (846 km²)
2. Martin Anderson, Montgomery County, 101,000 acres (409 km²)
3. William Baxter, Montgomery County, 300,000 acres (1214 km²)
4. Daniel Bealle, Franklin County, 247,773 acres (1003 km²)
5. Jonathan Black, Montgomery County, 327,000 acres (1323 km²)
6. John Blanton, Franklin County, 142,752 acres (578 km²)
7. James Bowie, Washington County, 130,776 acres (529 km²)
8. Joseph Bryant, Camden County, 135,000 acres (550 km²)
9. Robert Camell, Montgomery County, 100,000 acres (400 km²)
10. Curtis Coleman, Washington County, 234,035 acres (947.11 km²)
11. John Collier, Franklin County, 200,091 acres (809.74 km²)
12. Robert Comens, Montgomery County, 253,000 acres (1,020 km²)
13. Joseph Cooper, Montgomery County, 374,000 acres (1,510 km²)
14. Thomas Cooper, Montgomery County, 277,000 acres (1,120 km²)
15. Patrick Crookshanks, Washington County, 237,000 acres (960 km²)
16. John Cunningham, Franklin County, 102,878 acres (416.33 km²)
17. Thomas Davis, Washington County, 358,700 acres (1,452 km²)
18. Thomas Davison, Montgomery County, 341,000 acres (1,380 km²)
19. Richard Dawson, Washington County, 485,600 acres (1,965 km²)
20. Richmond Dawson, Franklin County, 130,000 acres (530 km²)
21. Richmond Dawson, Montgomery County, 731,700 acres (2,961 km²)
22. Gideon Dennison, Liberty County, 149,523 acres (605.10 km²)
23. John Diamond, Franklin County, 700,838 acres (2,836.19 km²)
24. Nathaniel Durkee, Franklin County, 197,845 acres (800.65 km²)
25. William Farmer, Franklin County, 100,000 acres (400 km²)
26. Thomas Fields, McIntosh County, 125,000 acres (510 km²)
27. Thomas Flournoy, Washington County, 100,000 acres (400 km²)
28. Gardner & Gilbert (partnership), Franklin County, 20,000 acres (81 km²)
29. John Garret, Camden County, 189,721 acres (767.77 km²)
30. Henry Garrett, Franklin County, 190,000 acres (770 km²)
31. Randal Griffin, Montgomery County, 200,000 acres (800 km²)
32. Joseph Grizard, Montgomery County, 100,000 acres (400 km²)
33. John Harrington, Franklin County, 182,853 acres (739.98 km²)
34. Michael Henderson, Montgomery County, 287,000 acres (1,160 km²)
35. Isaac Hill, Montgomery County, 100,000 acres (400 km²)
36. John Hopper, Franklin County, 140,000 acres (570 km²)
37. John Howell, Glynn County, 289,000 acres (1,170 km²)
38. John W. Hunter, Camden County, 100,000 acres (400 km²)
39. Robert Jackson, Camden County, 100,000 acres (400 km²)
40. Walter Jackson, Montgomery County, 100,000 acres (400 km²)
41. John Jameson, Camden County, 128,000 acres (520 km²)
42. Joseph B. Jones, Franklin County, 100,000 acres (400 km²)
43. Benjamin Kitchen, Washington County, 189,594 acres (767.26 km²)
44. Freeman Lewis, Glynn County, 308,500 acres (1,248 km²)
45. John Marcus, Effingham County, 105,750 acres (428.0 km²)
46. William Maubray, Camden County, 109,000 acres (440 km²)
47. David McCormack, Montgomery County, 100,000 acres (400 km²)
48. William McIntosh Junr., Glynn County, 336,000 acres (1,360 km²)
49. William McKissack, Montgomery County, 246,000 acres (1,000 km²)
50. Robert Middleton, Washington County, 133,875 acres (541.77 km²)
51. James Montfort, land in Liberty County, 267,422 acres (1,082.22 km²)
52. George Nailor, land in Franklin County, 119,450 acres (483.4 km²)
53. William Neel, land in Montgomery County, 154,800 acres (626 km²)
54. William Neill, land in Montgomery County, 166,000 acres (same person as William Neel)
55. Ferdinand O'Neal, land in Glynn County, 255,006 acres (1,031.97 km²)
56. Leroy Pope, land in Franklin County, 104,000 acres (420 km²)
57. Thomas Putnam, land in Montgomery County, 120,000 acres (490 km²)
58. William R. Reddick, land in Camden County, 125,000 acres (510 km²)
59. Charles Ryan, land in Effingham County, 212,469 acres (859.83 km²)
60. Joseph Ryan, land in Effingham County, 107,405 acres (434.65 km²)
61. Joseph Ryan, land in Washington County, 210,000 acres (850 km²)
62. James Sartain, land in Montgomery County, 102,235 acres (413.73 km²)
63. James Sartin, land in Montgomery County, 198,000 acres (same as James Sartain)
64. James Shorter, land in Montgomery County, 1,219,000 acres (4,930 km²)
65. John Smith, land in Franklin County, 179,329 acres (725.72 km²)
66. John Smith, land in Montgomery County, 100,943 acres (408.50 km²)
67. Thomas Smyth Junr., land in Franklin County, 128,176 acres (518.71 km²)
68. John Spikes, land in Montgomery County, 368,000 acres (1,490 km²)
69. Francis Tennill, land in Washington County, 275,930 acres (1,116.6 km²)
70. Micajah Vasser, land in Montgomery County, 470,000 acres (1,900 km²)
71. Edward Walsh, land in McIntosh County, 112,000 acres (450 km²)