Forsyth, the county seat of Monroe County, was incorporated by act of the legislature in 1823 and lies in almost the exact geographical center of the state. Its first commissioners were James S. Phillips, Henry H. Lumpkin, John E. Bailey, Anderson Baldwin, and Samuel Drewry. The town was named for John Forsyth, who as U.S. minister to Spain negotiated the final treaty by which Florida and other lands held by Spain were ceded to the U.S., and who later served as governor, senator, and U.S. secretary of state under Presidents Jackson and Van Buren.