As white settlers moved into Florida in the 1820's and 1830's, demands grew that the Seminole Indians be removed to a reservation west of the Mississippi. Efforts to persuade the Seminoles to move failed, and in 1835 the Second Seminole War began in earnest. Late in 1837, Maj. Gen. Thomas S. Jesup, the overall commander in Florida, prepared to carry the fighting into south Florida, where he believed a large force of hostile Indians would be found. These preparations included opening a road on the west side of the St. Johns River and building several posts along it as depots for operations farther south. On December 25, 1837, troops under Brig. Gen. Abraham Eustis established Fort Christmas on the north side of a creek near here. General Jesup led the column south from Fort Christmas early in January, and by late January his troops were receiving supplies by water from the St. Lucie River. In March Fort Christmas was abandoned, but the short-lived wooden fortification gave its name to the nearby town of Christmas.