From 1789 to 1796, Georgia governors George Walton

George Walton

George Walton signed the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Georgia and also served as the second Chief Executive of that state.-Life and work:...

, Edward Telfair

Edward Telfair

Edward Telfair was the Governor of the state of Georgia in 1786, and from 1790 through 1793. He was a member of the Continental Congress, and a signer of the Articles of Confederation.-Early Life:...

 and, George Mathews

George Mathews (Georgia)

George Mathews was an United States planter, merchant, and pioneer from Virginia and western Georgia. He served in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War then settled in Georgia. He served as the 20th Governor of Georgia, one term in the U.S...

, 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

Montgomery County, Georgia

Montgomery County is a county in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of 2000, the population was 8,270. The 2007 Census Estimate shows a population of 9,060...

 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

Yazoo land scandal

The Yazoo land scandal, Yazoo fraud, Yazoo land fraud, or Yazoo land controversy was a massive fraud perpetrated from 1794 to 1803 by several Georgia governors and the state legislature. They sold large tracts of land in what is now the state of Mississippi to political insiders at very low prices...

, 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

Fletcher v. Peck

Fletcher v. Peck, , was a landmark United States Supreme Court decision. The first case in which the Supreme Court ruled a state law unconstitutional, the decision also helped create a growing precedent for the sanctity of legal contracts, and hinted that Native Americans did not hold title to...

. The Yazoo land scandal dealt with land in Georgia and present-day Mississippi

Mississippi

Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...

.

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, 135000 acres (546.3 km²)
9. Robert Camell, Montgomery County, 100,000 acres (400 km²)
10. Curtis Coleman, Washington County, 234035 acres (947.1 km²)
11. John Collier, Franklin County, 200091 acres (809.7 km²)
12. Robert Comens, Montgomery County, 253000 acres (1,023.9 km²)
13. Joseph Cooper, Montgomery County, 374000 acres (1,513.5 km²)
14. Thomas Cooper, Montgomery County, 277000 acres (1,121 km²)
15. Patrick Crookshanks, Washington County, 237000 acres (959.1 km²)
16. John Cunningham, Franklin County, 102878 acres (416.3 km²)
17. Thomas Davis, Washington County, 358700 acres (1,451.6 km²)
18. Thomas Davison, Montgomery County, 341000 acres (1,380 km²)
19. Richard Dawson, Washington County, 485600 acres (1,965.2 km²)
20. Richmond Dawson, Franklin County, 130000 acres (526.1 km²)
21. Richmond Dawson, Montgomery County, 731700 acres (2,961.1 km²)
22. Gideon Dennison, Liberty County, 149523 acres (605.1 km²)
23. John Diamond, Franklin County, 700838 acres (2,836.2 km²)
24. Nathaniel Durkee, Franklin County, 197845 acres (800.7 km²)
25. William Farmer, Franklin County, 100,000 acres (400 km²)
26. Thomas Fields, McIntosh County, 125000 acres (505.9 km²)
27. Thomas Flournoy, Washington County, 100,000 acres (400 km²)
28. Gardner & Gilbert (partnership), Franklin County, 20000 acres (80.9 km²)
29. John Garret, Camden County, 189721 acres (767.8 km²)
30. Henry Garrett, Franklin County, 190000 acres (768.9 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, 182853 acres (740 km²)
34. Michael Henderson, Montgomery County, 287000 acres (1,161.4 km²)
35. Isaac Hill, Montgomery County, 100,000 acres (400 km²)
36. John Hopper, Franklin County, 140000 acres (566.6 km²)
37. John Howell, Glynn County, 289000 acres (1,169.5 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, 128000 acres (518 km²)
42. Joseph B. Jones, Franklin County, 100,000 acres (400 km²)
43. Benjamin Kitchen, Washington County, 189594 acres (767.3 km²)
44. Freeman Lewis, Glynn County, 308500 acres (1,248.5 km²)
45. John Marcus, Effingham County, 105750 acres (428 km²)
46. William Maubray, Camden County, 109000 acres (441.1 km²)
47. David McCormack, Montgomery County, 100,000 acres (400 km²)
48. William McIntosh Junr., Glynn County, 336000 acres (1,359.7 km²)
49. William McKissack, Montgomery County, 246000 acres (995.5 km²)
50. Robert Middleton, Washington County, 133875 acres (541.8 km²)
51. James Montfort, land in Liberty County, 267422 acres (1,082.2 km²)
52. George Nailor, land in Franklin County, 119450 acres (483.4 km²)
53. William Neel, land in Montgomery County, 154800 acres (626.5 km²)
54. William Neill, land in Montgomery County, 166,000 acres (same person as William Neel)
55. Ferdinand O'Neal, land in Glynn County, 255006 acres (1,032 km²)
56. Leroy Pope, land in Franklin County, 104000 acres (420.9 km²)
57. Thomas Putnam, land in Montgomery County, 120000 acres (485.6 km²)
58. William R. Reddick, land in Camden County, 125000 acres (505.9 km²)
59. Charles Ryan, land in Effingham County, 212469 acres (859.8 km²)
60. Joseph Ryan, land in Effingham County, 107405 acres (434.7 km²)
61. Joseph Ryan, land in Washington County, 210000 acres (849.8 km²)
62. James Sartain, land in Montgomery County, 102235 acres (413.7 km²)
63. James Sartin, land in Montgomery County, 198,000 acres (same as James Sartain)
64. James Shorter, land in Montgomery County, 1219000 acres (4,933.1 km²)
65. John Smith, land in Franklin County, 179329 acres (725.7 km²)
66. John Smith, land in Montgomery County, 100943 acres (408.5 km²)
67. Thomas Smyth Junr., land in Franklin County, 128176 acres (518.7 km²)
68. John Spikes, land in Montgomery County, 368000 acres (1,489.2 km²)
69. Francis Tennill, land in Washington County, 275930 acres (1,116.7 km²)
70. Micajah Vasser, land in Montgomery County, 470000 acres (1,902 km²)
71. Edward Walsh, land in McIntosh County, 112000 acres (453.2 km²)