Isaiah David Hart was an American plantation owner, and the founder of Jacksonville, Florida.
13 Facts About Isaiah Hart
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Originally from Georgia, Hart took up arms against Spain in the Patriot Rebellion of 1812.
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In 1801, William Isaiah Hart moved his family to East Florida when he received a land grant of 640 acres on Moncrief Creek and the Trout River from the Spanish governor.
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Isaiah Hart married Nancy Nelson in 1818 and settled at King's Ferry where the old King's Road crossed the St Marys River.
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Isaiah Hart realized that the location offered economic opportunities, and on May 18,1821, he bought 18 acres on the north bank of the St Johns from Lewis Zachariah Hogans, owner of the surrounding land, which was formerly part of the Taylor Grant, for $72 worth of cattle.
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When Duval County was incorporated in 1822, Hart saw new opportunities for development, and persuaded his neighbors John Brady and Lewis Z Hogans to join his enterprise of platting a town.
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Isaiah Hart successively held public office as postmaster, commissioner of pilotage, and judge of elections in Duval County.
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Isaiah Hart continued to buy more real estate, and by the mid-1830s had acquired 2,000 acres of land ten miles west of Jacksonville near present-day Marietta, where he established a plantation he called "Paradise".
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Isaiah Hart held various public offices and was admitted to the bar.
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Isaiah Hart served as a major in the local militia during the Second Seminole War, and in 1839 was elected as a Whig to the Florida Territorial Senate.
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Isaiah Hart maintained his stance on the issue while in the Territorial Senate.
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In 1859, Isaiah Hart extended the original plat of Jacksonville to include all of his property, and moved the town business center to higher ground on a sand ridge.
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When he died in 1861, Isaiah Hart was one of the richest men in Florida.