This site became the first federal tree farm in the United States because live oaks were prized for superior shipbuilding qualities. The U.S.S. Constellation and U.S.S. Constitution ("Old Ironsides"), both launched in 1797, were built of live oak, using about 160 and 460 trees respectively. Timber theft prompted congressional acts in 1817 and 1822 to supply timber for the United States Navy by prohibiting the sale of public lands containing live oaks. An 1826 report to the Secretary of the Navy claimed that two million cubic feet of live oak had been stolen from the South Atlantic Coast, probably "consumed abroad." This led to the Timber Trespass Act of 1827, which authorized penalties for timber theft and established a live oak plantation. In 1828, President John Q. Adams introduced a congressional resolution establishing this site for that plantation and appointed West Florida District Judge Henry Marie Brackenridge superintendent. Brackenridge studied the history of live oaks and began growing them here. About 1,300 acres of the original live oak reservation are now preserved by the National Park Service as part of Gulf Islands National Seashore.