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Link to Homstead records article
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=== Federal Land Records === | === Federal Land Records === | ||
When the United States acquired [[Wyoming|Wyoming]], most of the land that comprises the present state became part of the [[ | When the United States acquired [[Wyoming|Wyoming]], most of the land that comprises the present state became part of the [[Grants from the Federal Government (Public Domain)|public domain]]. The federal government surveyed available land and began transferring much of it to private ownership through local land offices in a process called "land entry." The first land office was established at Cheyenne in 1870. | ||
Land entry in Wyoming was either based on cash payment for the land (cash entries), or on conditions of settlement (homesteads). Anyone who was twenty-one years old, or who was a head of household (including widows), could purchase land. Free homesteads could be obtained after 1862 by those who settled and cultivated the land for at least five years. A homestead applicant either had to be a U.S. citizen or must have filed his intention to become a citizen. | Land entry in Wyoming was either based on cash payment for the land (cash entries), or on conditions of settlement ([[Homestead Records|homesteads]]). Anyone who was twenty-one years old, or who was a head of household (including widows), could purchase land. Free homesteads could be obtained after 1862 by those who settled and cultivated the land for at least five years. A homestead applicant either had to be a U.S. citizen or must have filed his intention to become a citizen. | ||
The local offices recorded each transaction in a section of land in tract books. They also created township plats, which are maps of land entries within each township. | The local offices recorded each transaction in a section of land in tract books. They also created township plats, which are maps of land entries within each township. | ||