Early Life
William Henry Gleason was born in 1829 in New York. He had an early interest in engineering, banking, law and politics. In 1853 he became a member of the Skull and Bones society at Yale University. In 1855 he opened a bank and began to develop the town of Eau Claire, Wisconsin. In 1858 he married Sara Griffin from New York. Gleason learned from his banking experience and moved into sales during the Civil War.
The issue of slavery was an interest of Gleason's, and having made a name for himself in this cause, he was appointed a special agent of the Freeman's Bureau in 1865. His mission was to scout the Florida peninsula as a possible site for a Negro colony. The idea of colonization did not appeal to Gleason. His recommendation against a Negro colony in Florida garnered local political support in future years.
Having toured the state for several months, Gleason was one of the first post-war visitors to realize the great potential for business. He rented a schooner and moved his family to the old military post, Fort Dallas, in 1866 (near present-day Miami). This was a time of great transition in Florida. Gleason sought investment land under control of the state's Trustee's of the Internal Improvement Fund and proposed to ditch and drain land in exchange for bargain rates on nearby real estate. The board originated in Congress with the 1850 Internal Improvement Act that granted certain swamp and overflow lands to the states. Florida received millions of acres, and not all was swamp. The mission of the Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund was to work with private companies to improve the state. Developers like Gleason were allowed to purchase 640 acres (260 ha) of state land for $40 in consideration for every 50,000 cubic feet (1,400 m3) of ditching completed. This amounted to just over six cents per acre and provided an 800% return on investment if the land could be resold at fifty cents per acre.
In 1875 Gleason became interested in a canal project to connect Indian River with Lake Washington. He proposed to rechannel and deepen Eau Gallie's Elbow Creek and extend the waterway to Lake Washington. The state's payment for this work was set at $4000 plus 4,000 acres (1,600 ha) for every mile (10 km² per km) of canal constructed. This project never materialized, however a drainage canal was cut (the Hopkins ditch) along this route, named after its promoter George W. Hopkins.
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“... business training in early life should not be regarded solely as insurance against destitution in the case of an emergency. For from business experience women can gain, too, knowledge of the world and of human beings, which should be of immeasurable value to their marriage careers. Self-discipline, co-operation, adaptability, efficiency, economic management,—if she learns these in her business life she is liable for many less heartbreaks and disappointments in her married life.”
—Hortense Odlum (1892–?)