# United States Statutes at Large/Volume 5/24th Congress/2nd Session/Chapter 9

Chap. IX.—An Act to authorize certain rail-roads companies to construct rail-roads through the public lands in the Territory of Florida.
East Florida Rail-road Company authorized to locate and construct a rail-road, commencing on the St. John’s river, &c.Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the East Florida Rail-road Company, a corporation established by an act of the Governor ​and Legislative Council of the Territory of Florida, approved the fourteenth of February, anno Domini eighteen hundred and thirty-five, be, and they are hereby, authorized to locate and construct a rail-road on the following route, to wit: commencing on the St. John’s river and thence in the most convenient and suitable direction to Tallahassee or the waters of St. Mark’s river or bay, on the Gulf of Mexico, or to any other point east of or between the St. Mark’s and Appalachicola rivers, which may be selected by said company.
May pass over the public lands.Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That the said company is further authorized, wherever said route shall pass over the public lands of the United States, to locate the same thereon, eighty feet wide; which said location, if made according to the true intent and meaning of this act, shall be enjoyed by said company so long as they maintain the said road for the public accommodation.
Timber, &c., may be used.Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That the said company shall have the right to take from the said public lands, timber, stone, and earth, whenever it may be convenient for the construction of any part of said way running through the same; also to deposite and leave such materials upon such lands, whenever it may be necessary; also, to cut drains, where necessary, through the same; and during the period of the construction of said way, to occupy said lands along said route, doing as little injury thereto as may be.
Conditions to be complied with by said company.Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That to entitle the said company to the enjoyment of the privileges herein provided for, they shall comply with the following conditions, to wit:
First, They shall cause the said route, whenever it passes over the public lands, to be surveyed, and the location of the way to be accurately delineated in their proper connexion, and a map thereof, and a copy of the locations, to be returned and deposited in the General Land Office, within six months from the date of the final location of the said road.
Second, They shall cause permanent monuments to be erected along said route, conforming to such locations and maps, defining the limits of the way.
Third, Wherever the said rail-way shall intersect a highway or travelled way on the public lands, that way or ways shall be left unobstructed.
Fourth, Wherever it shall cross a stream or low grounds, such provision shall be made for draining off the water as to leave the said public lands uninjured by said rail-way.
Fifth, They shall complete the said way within the time provided for in the act of incorporation.
Sixth, Said location of said way shall be considered and treated as open way, and be kept as such, and the lands abutting thereon shall be considered as abutting upon a public way.
Public lands to be reserved by the U. S., &c.Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That the sections and quarter sections of public lands over which the said road may pass, shall be reserved by the United States for two years after the final location of the said way; and to this end the said company shall, as soon as they have resolved to survey or examine any route,Notice to be given by the company of routed to be surveyed, &c. Proviso. give notice to the register of the land district in which the lands may be over which they intend to pass; and when the final location is made, a further notice of that fact shall be given, in like manner, of the lands over which it actually passes, which said last mentioned lands shall be reserved as aforesaid from sale: Provided, That neither the said company nor any other person shall be authorized to settle on the said reserved sections or quarter sections; and no person so settling shall acquire thereby a pre-emptive right or claim to the said reserved lands, or to any part thereof; ​and if said company shall fail to give prompt and seasonable notice in both the above cases, they shall forfeit their privileges under this act.
Time for making surveys, &c., extended.Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That the time for making the surveys and commencing the work, as prescribed in the said act of incorporation, be, and the same is hereby, extended for one year after the passage of this act.
Governor, &c. may provide by law for the construction of railroads to cross or intersect, &c.Sec. 7. And be it further enacted, That it shall be lawful for the Governor and Legislative Council of the said Territory, or for the Legislature of the State of Florida hereafter, to provide by law for the construction of rail-roads from the Appalachicola river, or from any other point, to cross or intersect the abovementioned rail-road, from the Georgia State Line to the Gulf of Mexico.
E. F. Railroad Company may cross proposed rial-road at, &c.Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That the said East Florida Rail-road Company be, and they are hereby authorized to cross the rail-road proposed to be made at any point between Tallahassee and St. Mark’s.
Florida may take stock.Sec. 9. And be it further enacted, That the Territory or State of Florida shall, at the end of twenty years, have the privilege of taking one-fourth of the stock at par, by paying to the company the interest on the investment.
Acts repealed.Sec. 10. And be it further enacted, That all acts or parts of acts of the Legislative Council of the Territory of Florida, inconsistent with the foregoing provisions, be, and the same are hereby annulled.
Pensacola and Perdido Rail-road company may make rail-road, from, &c. Brunswick and Florida Rail-road Company may extend their rail-road from, &c.Sec. 11. And be it further enacted, That the Pensacola and Perdido Rail-road Company, organized under acts of the Governor and Legislative Council of the Territory of Florida, and of the State of Alabama, be, and they are hereby, authorized to make a rail-road from Pensacola to the waters of the Mobile bay or river; and also, that the Brunswick and Florida Rail-road Company, incorporated by an act of the Legislature of Georgia, be, and they are hereby, authorized to extend their rail-road from the Georgia line to the city of Tallahassee, and thence to the river Appalachicola, or St. George’s sound, upon the same conditions and limitations contained in the foregoing provisions of this act.
Lake Winnico and St. Joseph’s Canal and Rail-road Company may construct rail-road from St. Joseph to Tallahassee.Sec. 12. And be it further enacted, That the Lake Winnico and St. Joseph’s Canal and Rail-road Company, organized under acts of the Governor and Legislative Council of the Territory of Florida, be, and they are hereby authorized to locate and construct a rail-road from the city of St. Joseph to the city of Tallahassee, in said Territory, upon the same conditions and limitations contained in the foregoing provisions of this act; and in the construction of said road, may cross, or intersect, and form a junction with, any other rail-road which may be made west of the city of Tallahassee.
Approved, January 31, 1837.