Original Land Titles in Utah Territory
This leaflet is designed to help researchers understand the
legal processes involved in obtaining original title to land
in Utah Territory. Understanding these processes will help
researchers understand the meaning of land related documents
and also provide ideas about where to look for them.
During the nineteenth century the federal government pursued
a policy of transferring land in the public domain to private
ownership as rapidly as possible. This policy was designed
to encourage western expansion. Federal laws governing land distribution were already
in place before Utah settlement. At settlement, Brigham Young
and the territorial government established a system of land
distribution, which is documented by territorial land records,
but which did not comply with federal laws. For the first
22 years after settlement, land ownership was based on the
Utah territorial land policies. In 1869
Congressional legislation called for the establishment of
a land office in Utah and reconciliation
of land titles. Additional records were generated out of that
process. (See sources used in compiling
this research guide.)
Federal Laws Governing Land Distribution
All land in Utah became part of the public domain when the
United States signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in February
1848. This land came into the possession of the United States
government with a clear and undisputed title. No state contested
title, and no private rights had been established previously.
Therefore every original land title in Utah can be traced
to a patent or other document transferring that land from
the federal government. Prior to 1848, Congress had already
established laws governing the transfer of land from federal
to private ownership. Federal laws governed the establishment
of land offices, methods of surveying,
and procedures for acquiring land by purchase
or preemption, and later by homestead.
Land Offices
Congress provided for the establishment of land offices in
various districts throughout the United States to carry out
the business of transferring land from public to private ownership.
Regardless of the method used to acquire land, some basic
interactions with the land office created universal documents.
An entry made at the land office, was a notation in
the records of that office that a particular applicant intended
to acquire title to specific land. Entries included necessary
payment or application. After making an entry an individual
was entitled to occupy the land and make use of it as he saw
fit, or as required to complete the application process. Whether
before or after entry every title required a survey,
which is a detailed description of the property including
such things as boundaries, distances of the perimeter, and
descriptions of natural or man-made features on the property.
When application requirements had been met or full payment
received the land office issued a certificate, which
was verification that all of the necessary steps had been
fulfilled and that the recipient held clear and undisputed
title. Certificates were redeemable at the General Land Office,
which held exclusive right to issue a patent or final
title to the property.
Since the federal government was responsible for the process,
entries, surveys, certificates and patents are in federal
custody. The National Archives holds land
acquisition case files. The Bureau of Land Management holds
patents. However, individuals who completed the process of
acquiring land should have had their certificate or patent
recorded by the county recorder in the county where the land
was located. Recorded copies of these documents are among
the deeds and other land records in Utah county recorders'
offices [see federal certificate images].
Federal Surveys
The federal method of surveying, as applied to Utah, originated
with the Land Ordinance of 1785. This ordinance prescribed
that land should be laid out according to townships and sections.
According to this system, a principal meridian was laid out
as a true north and south line [see national
principal meridians image]. Additional north-south lines
are laid out six miles apart, dividing the land into six-mile
widths called ranges. These are numbered, range 1 east, 2
east, etc. and range 1 west, 2 west and so on. A base line
was then laid out intersecting the principal meridian at right
angles, and corresponding base lines are laid out six miles
apart. These lines divide the land into six mile square blocks
called townships [see township and range image]. Each township is
numbered according to its position in relationship to the
meridian and baseline. Each township is subsequently divided
into 36 sections, each one square mile [see township sections image]. Sections are broken
down into smaller pieces by halves, fourths, eighths, sixteenths,
and thirty-seconds [see section divisions image]. By law, no public
land could be disposed of until it had been officially surveyed.
In Utah two meridians and baselines were established, the
principal being the Salt Lake Meridian with a center point
at the southeast corner of Temple Square. Most land in Utah
is defined by it. Parts of Duchesne, Uintah, and Wasatch Counties
are defined by the Uintah Meridian with a center point north
of Roosevelt, Utah.
Land Purchase
By the time the federal government opened a land office in
Salt Lake City in 1869, several laws were already in place
to govern the process of acquiring land in the public domain.
The purchase of public land was governed by an "Act Making
Provision for the Sale of Public Land," enacted 24 April 1820. According to this law, surveyed land
would initially be offered at a two-week public sale. The
law prescribed that land be sold in quarter sections (three-
miles square) as defined by an act passed in 1805, and that
it be sold to the highest bidder. Land not sold at this public
sale was to be subsequently offered for private sale in amounts
not less than 160 acres. Originally no credit was allowed
and complete payment was due on the day of purchase. Whether
at private or public sale no land was to be sold for less
than $1.25 per acre.
Preemption
Laws for purchasing land were problematic. Many settlers
did not wait for surveys to be completed so the land could
become available for sale, but instead settled on any available
unclaimed land. When the land was later surveyed and made
available for sale, it could be purchased by anyone who had
enough money to outbid the settler. Settlers could lose the
land along with home and improvements. Congress addressed
this issue by passing the Preemption Act in 1842. This law
gave settlers first right to purchase 160 acres and allowed
them up to 21 months to make payment.
Homestead
The Homestead Act, which Congress passed in 1862, evolved
from preemption. This act provided free grants of public land
to any person who was a citizen of the United States and over
21 years old or the head of a household. Homesteaders were
allowed 160 acres. In order to obtain a patent, homesteaders
were required to improve and cultivate the land and to maintain
residency on it for five years. Potential homesteaders were
originally required to personally appear at the land office
to file an entry, prove citizenship and other qualifications,
and verify that they had personally examined the land and
were satisfied with its character.
Utah Territorial Land Policies
Because of conflict between Utah Territory and the federal
government, the first land office was not opened in Utah until
1869. For the first 22 years after settlement the national
land system did not extend to Utah Territory, but the Utah
Territorial Assembly governed land ownership in Utah. The
territorial government established methods of surveying
and acquiring title. These practices
and the documents they created were recognized in Utah Territory,
but did not provide Utah settlers with federally recognized
legal title to land. The territorial government also established
county recorders as keepers of land
records, and in 1888 the Territorial Assembly defined certain
indexes and finding aids which county
recorders were thereafter required to keep.
Territorial Surveys
Brigham Young intended to populate the territory as rapidly
as possible, and from the start declared that "no man
should buy land…but every man should have his land measured
off to him for city and farming purposes, what he could till."
In 1847 he had a survey made of Great Salt Lake City. Plats
selected for urban purposes were divided into ten-acre blocks,
each containing eight lots of 1 1/4 acres. Each settler received
his lot by lottery for $1.50, which was to cover the cost
of surveying and recording. Settlers received separate portions
outside the city for agricultural purposes. All disputes were
resolved by an appeal to ecclesiastical authority. In 1850
Governor Young approved "An Ordinance Creating the Surveyor
General's Office." This ordinance created the office
of surveyor general and established methods of surveying.
It ordered that all surveys in the territory should be made
to correspond with the original survey of Great Salt Lake
City [see Salt Lake survey image and blocks
and lots image]. The following year the first Legislative
Assembly passed "An Act to Regulate Surveyors and Surveying."
This law required surveyors to provide a certificate to each
person for whom a survey was made. These certificates were
considered title of possession [see sample land certificates]. The law also required each county
surveyor to submit true copies of the diagrams of his surveys
to the surveyor general and to the county recorder.
Acquiring Title
The First Legislative Assembly further refined methods of
acquiring title in "An Act Regulating Transfers of Possession
of Land and Real Estate, 1851." This act provided for
the sale or transfer of property with a quitclaim deed to
be recorded by the county recorder [see sample transfer].
"An Act in Relation to County Recorders, and the Acknowledgment
of Instruments of Writing, 1855" stated that county recorders
could not record land to any person, either by transfer or
application, until a certificate of survey had been produced.
Certificates were to be countersigned by county selectmen.
Further, this act required any person having land surveyed
to enclose [fence] it within two years. Subsequent legislation
required survey certificates to be signed by a county selectman
and recorded by the county recorder within 30 days of issue
in order to validate title. Microfilm copies of some land
or surveyor's certificates have been transferred to the Utah
State Archives, but few of them have been archivally arranged
and described. Processed holdings include:
- Washington County recorder. Land certificates, 1856-1891
(Series
23279).
County Recorders
Brigham Young established a method for recording land records
in "An Ordinance in Relation to County Recorders,"
approved 1 March 1850. A county recorder in each county was
commissioned to record "all transfers or conveyances
of land or tenements, and all other instruments of writing
and documents suitable, necessary and proper" to such
conveyances. In short, the recorder was to keep a record of
every action or transaction that involved real property. Documents
were to be recorded in "good and well bound books, suitable
for the purpose." The books were to be indexed in alphabetical
order and were to be free to examination.
The earliest Utah deeds were typically called transfers.
The earliest county recorders' books contain copies of surveyors'
certificates and transfers. As time passed, recorders added
various types of deeds, patents, mining claims, etc., to create
an ever-increasing variety of official land records. Since
the law required only that these be recorded in well bound
books, record types were combined or separated at the recorders'
discretion. Early county recorders' books were separately
indexed.
Indexes and Finding Aids
In 1888 the Territorial Assembly revised the laws governing
county recorders. The new law required that separate books
be kept for recording different classes of instruments. It
also required county recorders to keep several indexes or
finding aids. The most important of these are entry books,
abstracts, and grantee and grantor indexes. The new law required
every county recorder to keep an entry book in which he should,
immediately upon receipt of an instrument to be recorded,
enter the names of the parties involved, the date and time,
and a brief description. Each instrument was assigned a corresponding
entry number. County recorders' entry books enable retrieval
of documents based on entry number or filing date.
The new law also required each county recorder to keep a
grantee index and a grantor index. In the grantor
index, the recorder was to alphabetically list the names of
grantors (sellers) and for each record, enter the date of
the instrument, the date of filing, the kind of instrument,
and the book and page where the document was recorded. Grantee
indexes are identical to grantor indexes except that they
reference the grantee (buyer). Grantee and grantor indexes
enable retrieval of documents based on the names of parties
involved in a transaction.
The new law required each county recorder to keep an abstract
which would show a true chain of title to each tract and the
encumbrances thereon. For each tract the abstract lists every
conveyance or encumbrance, the date recorded, the type of
instrument, and identifies the book and page where the document
is recorded. In cases where abstract books had not been kept
prior to the enactment of this law, the law required the county
court to procure books and make an abstract for each tract
showing a connected chain of title and encumbrance up to the
time of the taking effect of this act. Abstracts should have
been created or reconstructed for every tract of land in Utah.
They provide access to documents based on location.
The law required county recorders to keep an index to
maps and plats recorded for the county surveyor [see sample
survey map].
Records in Utah county recorders' offices are public records and all
persons interested in titles have free access to records during
business hours. Microfilm copies of many of these records
have been transferred to the Utah State Archives, but few
of them have been archivally arranged and described.
Establishment of a Land Office
in Utah and Reconciliation
Reconciliation between the territorial and federal land distribution
systems required Congressional legislation to establish a
land office in Salt Lake City, integrate Utah Territory into the national land system,
and provide relief to the inhabitants of cities and towns on the
public domain. Subsequent legislation provided the additional
opportunity to acquire land through the Desert
Lands Act.
Salt Lake City Land Office
In 1855 Congress directed the President of the United States
to appoint a surveyor general for Utah Territory, and to cause
that the lands of that territory should be surveyed preparatory
to bringing them on the market. Certain sections were to be
reserved for the benefit of schools and a university in the
territory. The surveyor general arrived in Utah in July
of the same year to begin surveying. He established the initial
point for his survey (base line and meridian) at the southeast
corner of the Temple Block, and from there extended that survey
over 2 million acres. Because of numerous conflicts between
the surveyor and the territorial government the first surveyor
general abandoned his post in 1857. His successors recommended
that no additional land be surveyed. Conflict between the
federal and territorial governments kept the issue on hold
until 1868, and in the meantime, large sections of the territory
were transferred to neighboring territories and states. Again
in 1868, Congress directed the President to appoint a surveyor
general in the Utah Territory, to establish a land office
in Salt Lake City, and to extend the federal land laws over
the same. The land office opened 9 March 1869. From that point
settlers began the process of securing federally acknowledged
legal title to their lands.
Integration into National Land System
When the federal government opened a land office in Salt
Lake City, it provided integration into the national land
system by extending the rights of preemption, homestead, and
purchase to Utah inhabitants. Settlers were subsequently able
to make entry for homesteads or purchase federal land. Much
land was already settled and claimed in amounts smaller than
the 160-acre minimum the federal government wished to impose.
To accommodate the law, many settlers purchased or entered
preemption or homestead claims and then divided the land among
those already settled thereon.
Desert Lands Act
Subsequent to the establishment of the Salt Lake City land
office, Congress passed additional legislation designed to
expedite private ownership in the public domain. The Desert
Lands Act, passed 3 March 1877, is of particular significance
in Utah because it applied to all arid land in the public
domain. This law provided for the purchase of up to 640 acres
of desert land by an applicant who could bring it under cultivation.
The law required that the applicant be a U.S. citizen and
that he be at least 21. Upon entering his claim, the applicant
was required to identify the land, explain exactly how he
intended to bring it under cultivation, and make a down payment
of 25 cents an acre. The claimant had three years to prove
that he had brought the land under cultivation and to make
final payment of $1 per acre.
Relief for the Inhabitants of Cities
and Towns
Prior to opening the land office, Congress addressed the
issue of providing legal title to the owners of town lots
in already surveyed towns. In March 1867 Congress passed an
"Act for the relief for the inhabitants of cities and
towns on the public domain." This act provided that a
mayor (for incorporated towns) or the county probate judge
(for unincorporated towns) should enter town site lands at
the land office and purchase them for the benefit of all inhabitants.
Congress further specified that the territorial legislature
should prescribe rules by which these lots would be disposed
to individuals. Pursuant to this law, the Utah Territorial
Legislature established regulations for disposing of town
site lands. Within 30 days after making the entry, the judge
or mayor was to give public notice and advertise the land
he had entered. Every person, association, or corporation
claiming to be a rightful owner of any part of this land was
required within six months to present a claim to the probate
court. In case of adverse claims the probate judge was required
to "decide according to justice in the case," and
when claims were undisputed, to determine the validity of
the claim. The probate judge or mayor was then required to
issue a certificate authorizing a deed to be recorded [see
sample probate testimony].
Since Utah county probate courts were responsible for adjudicating
and authorizing federally recognized title to previously distributed
town lots, the records relating to those judgments are among
the records kept by county probate courts. Land adjudication
records may appear in the body of probate court minutes or
they may have been kept in separate volumes designated for
that purpose. They may simply be land certificates authorized
by the court. Processed series in Utah State Archives containing
probate court authorization of town site titles include:
- Beaver County (Utah). Probate Court. Record books, 1870-1885
(Series
14893).
- Brigham City (Utah). City Recorder. Town site deeds, 1870-1877
(Series
85246).
- Iron County (Utah). Probate Court. Land certificates (Parowan),
1872-1879 (Series
23642).
- Washington County (Utah). Probate Court. Civil and criminal
record books, 1856-1886 (Series
3168).
- Washington County (Utah). Probate Court. Land claims adjudication
record books, 1873-1886 (Series
22875).
- Washington County (Utah). Probate Court. Claims abstracts,
1871-1882 (Series
23578).
Sources:
"An Act Declaring Certain Things to be Property, Specifying
the Owner Thereof. . ." (January 20, 1860). Acts, Resolutions
and Memorials passed by the Legislative Assembly of the Territory
of Utah during the 9th Annual Session. Great Salt Lake City:
John S. Davis, 1860.
"An Act for the Relief of the Inhabitants of Cities
and Towns upon the Public Lands" (March 2, 1867). The
Statutes at Large, Treaties, and Proclamations, of the United
States of America, vol XIV. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company,
1868.
"An Act Making Further Provision for the Sale of Public
Lands" (April 24, 1820). The Public Statutes at Large
of the United States of America, vol. III. Boston: Charles
C. Little and James Brown, 1846.
"An Act Regulating Transfers of Possession of Land and
Real Estate," (1851). Acts, Resolutions and Memorials
Passed by the First Annual and Special Sessions of the Legislative
Assembly of the Territory of Utah, Great Salt Lake City: Brigham
Young, 1852.
"An Act to Create the Office of Surveyor-General in
the Territory of Utah, and Establish a Land Office in said
Territory, and extend the Homestead and Pre-emption Laws over
the same" (July 16, 1868). The Statutes at Large, Treaties,
and Proclamations of the United States of America, vol. XV.
Boston: Charles C. Little and James Brown, 1869.
"An Act to Enable the People of Utah to form a Constitution
and State Government, and to be admitted into the Union on
Equal Footing with the Original States" (July 16, 1894).
The Statutes at Large of the United States of America. Washington:
Government Printing Office., 1895.
"An Act to Establish the Office of Surveyor-General
in the Territory of Utah, and to grant Land for School and
University Purposes" (February 21, 1855). The Statutes
at Large and Treaties of the United States of America, vol.
X. Boston: Charles C. Little and James Brown, 1856.
"An Act to Regulate Surveyors and Surveying," (1851).
Acts Resolutions and Memorials Passed by the First Annual
and Special Sessions of the Legislative Assembly of the Territory
of Utah, Great Salt Lake City: Brigham Young. 1852.
Andrews, Richard N.L. Land in America. Lexington,
Massachusetts: Lexington Books, 1979.
Circular from the General Land Office showing the Manner
of Proceeding to Obtain Title to Public Lands under the Homestead,
Desert Land and Other Laws, issued July 11, 1899.
Compiled Laws of Utah, 1876. Title 4, Chapter
4.
Compiled Laws of Utah, 1888. Chapter 5, Article
6.
Fitzpatrick, J.S. ed. "Land Ordinance of 1785",
20 May 1785. Journals of the Continental Congress,
Vol. XXVIII, p. 375.
Hone, E. Wade. Land and Property Research in the United
States. Salt Lake City, Utah: Ancestry Incorporated, 1997.
Laws and Ordinances of the State of Deseret
(Utah). Compilation 1851. (Salt Lake City:
Shepard Book Company, 1919)
Lee, Lawrence B. "Homesteading in Zion," Utah
Historical Quarterly (Jan 1960), Vol. 29, no. 1, p. 29-38.
Larson, Gustive O. "Land Contest in Early Utah,"
Utah Historical Quarterly (Oct 1961), vol 29, no 4,
p. 309-325.
Linford, Lawrence I. "Establishing
and Maintaining Land Ownership in Utah Prior to 1869."
Utah Historical Quarterly (Spring 1974), Vol.
42, no. 2, p. 126-143.
Mall, Loren L. Public Land and Mining
Law, text and cases. Seattle, Wash: Butterworth (Legal
Publishers), c1981.
Pisani, Donald J. Water, Land, and Law in the West; Limits
of Public Policy, 1850-1920. Lawrence: University Press
of Kansas, c1996.
Rollins, George W. "Land Policies of the United States
as Applied to Utah in 1910," Utah Historical
Quarterly (1952), Vol. 20, no. 3, p. 239-251.
Washington County (Utah). County recorder, Deeds (Saint George),
1874-1954, Book T (Utah State Archives series 23286).
Washington County (Utah). County recorder, Land certificates,
1856-1891, Book A (Utah State Archives series 23279).
Washington County (Utah). County recorder, Official and subdivision
maps, 1862-1973, (Utah State Archives series 23691).
