In 1881, Hamilton Disston purchased four million acres of land from Florida's indebted Internal Improvement Fund in what may have been the largest land purchase by an individual in world history. He planned to drain the swampland north of Lake Okeechobee to open the area to agriculture, and his canal system included dredging the canal between Lake Tohopekaliga and East Lake Tohopekaliga. His efforts would be a major factor in the development of several towns, including Saint Cloud.