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=== Federal Land Records (1869-Present) === | === Federal Land Records (1869-Present) === | ||
Federal land surveys began in 1855. | Federal land surveys began in 1855. The first general land office to sell lands in the public domain in Salt Lake City was established in 1869. Other offices were located in Beaver (1876-77) and Vernal (1905-27). Land was available through the land offices to individuals (entrymen) who paid a down payment (cash entry) for a piece of property or to homesteaders who paid a small entry fee. | ||
Land office officials maintained registers of land office business and kept separate files (case files) for each entryman. They listed information about entries in tract books (registers containing a written description of each entry) and township plats (maps showing the lots for each township). | Land office officials maintained registers of land office business and kept separate files (case files) for each entryman. They listed information about entries in tract books (registers containing a written description of each entry) and township plats (maps showing the lots for each township). | ||
After an individual completed the requirements for land entry, his case file was sent to the General Land Office in Washington, D.C. This office confirmed that everything was in order and issued a patent (official land title) transferring the rights of land ownership from the government. | After an individual completed the requirements for land entry, his case file was sent to the General Land Office in Washington, D.C. This office confirmed that everything was in order and issued a patent (official land title) transferring the rights of land ownership from the government to him. | ||
Since land in Utah had been settled for over 20 years when the land office opened, it was often difficult to make the government land packages fit the existing town and farm lots. In many cases a "trustee" received the patent and then distributed the land among several others. Records of these secondary transfers should be listed in | Since land in Utah had been settled for over 20 years when the land office opened, it was often difficult to make the government land packages fit the existing town and farm lots. In many cases a "trustee" received the patent and then distributed the land among several others. Records of these secondary transfers should be listed in county recorder's office. | ||
The library has tract books and land ownership maps for Utah. For more information about these records and other federal land records, see the United States Research Outline in the "[[United States Land and Property|Land and Property]]" and the "[[United States Maps|Maps]]" sections. | The library has tract books and land ownership maps for Utah. For more information about these records and other federal land records, see the United States Research Outline in the "[[United States Land and Property|Land and Property]]" and the "[[United States Maps|Maps]]" sections. | ||
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'''Bureau of Land Management<br>'''Utah State Office<br>324 South State Street Suite 400<br>Salt Lake City, UT 84111-2303<br>Telephone: 801-539-4001<br>Fax: 801-539-4260 <br>Internet: http://www.blm.gov/ut/st/en.html | '''Bureau of Land Management<br>'''Utah State Office<br>324 South State Street Suite 400<br>Salt Lake City, UT 84111-2303<br>Telephone: 801-539-4001<br>Fax: 801-539-4260 <br>Internet: http://www.blm.gov/ut/st/en.html | ||
This office has copies of patents and tractbooks from 1869 to the present | This office has copies of patents and tractbooks from 1869 to the present with survey plats and notes beginning in the 1850s, and township plats showing who the land was sold to. | ||
' | ''''The National Archives — Rocky Mountain Region<br>'''Building 48 — Denver Federal Center<br>West 6th Avenue and Kipling Street <br>P.O. Box 25307<br>Denver, CO 80255-0307<br>Telephone (General Inquiries): (303) 236-0817<br>(Genealogy Inquiries): (303) 236-0806<br>Fax: (303) 236-9297<br>E-mail: [mailto:denver.archives@nara.gov denver.archives@nara.gov]<br>Internet: http://www.archives.gov/facilities/co/denver.html | ||
The Denver Branch has land office records for Utah, including correspondence, surveys, homestead and cash entry registers, receipts, and final certificates. An inventory of their land records is in: | |||
The Denver Branch has land office records for Utah, including correspondence, surveys, homestead and cash entry registers, receipts, and final certificates. An inventory of their land records is: | |||
Barker, Joel. ''Preliminary Inventory of Land Management - Utah''. Denver, Colorado: Archives Branch, Federal Archives and Records Center, 1979. (Family History Library [http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=titledetails&titleno=629803&disp=Preliminary+inventory+of+the+records+of+%20%20&columns=*,0,0 book 979.2 R23b].) This book provides a history of the land dealings and surveys. It lists what is available, the dates, how it is arranged, and a description. | Barker, Joel. ''Preliminary Inventory of Land Management - Utah''. Denver, Colorado: Archives Branch, Federal Archives and Records Center, 1979. (Family History Library [http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=titledetails&titleno=629803&disp=Preliminary+inventory+of+the+records+of+%20%20&columns=*,0,0 book 979.2 R23b].) This book provides a history of the land dealings and surveys. It lists what is available, the dates, how it is arranged, and a description. | ||