canal was cut (the Hopkins ditch) along this route, named after its promoter George W. Hopkins (1844-1925) who had purchased over . George W. Hopkins While commencing the lumber business in Florida, Hopkins completed a drainage canal in 1909, now called Hopkins Canal, along present day Aurora Road between Lake Washington and the Eau Gallie River. The general idea and location of a navigable canal near the Hopkins Canal was first proposed by Gleason in 1871. After passage of the Drainage District Act in 1913, Hopkins organized a huge drainage project. Hopkins founded Deer Park, Florida, with his daughter Agnes's husband, William H. Kempfer. The Kempfer Cattle Company still exists in Deer Park. Hopkins also founded the eponymous town of Hopkins, Florida. Politics During the late 1860s and 1870s, Gleason traveled between his Fort Dallas residence and Tallahassee, seeking business and political connections. As a consequence of this and a few powerful Republican friends, on July 7, 1868, he was sworn in as the state's second lieutenant governor. During an attempted impeachment of Governor Harrison Reed, Gleason claimed the Governorship. The Senate had adjourned on November 7, 1868 without deciding whether or not to impeach Reed. Reed's supporters, including the state's Adjutant General and the county Sheriff, kept him out of the Capitol. He set up in a hotel and signed documents as Governor. The Supreme Court sided with Governor Reed, and the political struggle ended with his removal from office as Lieutenant Governor December 14, 1868. Traveling along Florida's coast, Gleason passed many charming harbors. He liked one such area so much that he purchased most of it () at $1.25 an acre and renamed it Eau Gallie, having been formerly called "Arlington" by its founder, John Caroll Houston IV. Gleason prepared a plat of his new land, which encompassed the entire area from Indian River Lagoon to Lake Washington, approximately thirty square miles. William Lee Apthorp's 1877 Standard Map of Florida shows Eau Gallie in large capital letters, incorrectly designating Gleason's land as the county seat of Brevard County. Part of Gleason's land eventually became the city of Eau Gallie and later north Melbourne. During the contentious 1876 presidential election, Gleason reportedly held up the certification of Florida's results. Shortly after the election, it was determined that there was a tie in Florida but also that the returns from Dade County had not been counted. After several attempts