Land Office
From birchyHistory
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The office closed [[22 Jul 1881]] while Kreidler is charged with embezzling $1,800. Charges against Kreidler are dropped after he pays the money back. It reopens [[22 Dec 1881]] with Gould as Receiver. | The office closed [[22 Jul 1881]] while Kreidler is charged with embezzling $1,800. Charges against Kreidler are dropped after he pays the money back. It reopens [[22 Dec 1881]] with Gould as Receiver. | ||
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| + | On 27 [[Aug 1881]] the [[Northern Pacific Railroad]] Company filed in the office of the county clerk and recorder of Custer County a plat of what is commonly called the Original Town site or the Original Plat of Miles City. | ||
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For year ending [[30 Jun 1882]] the office handled: | For year ending [[30 Jun 1882]] the office handled: | ||
Homesteads 106 14,867 acres | Homesteads 106 14,867 acres | ||
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Preemption Proof - For preemptions, as well as other entries under the federal land laws, the settler was required to give proof that he or she had complied with the legal provisions of the law before receiving title to the land from the government. Hence the term "proving up". Preemptions on "offered" lands required proof and final payment within one year after the date of settlement indicated on the declaratory statement. At that time, the settler was required to complete a form known as a preemption proof, secure the testimony of two witnesses on a similar form, and pay for the land with cash, military bounty warrants, or agricultural college scrip, at the government price, usually $1.25 per acre. This price was $2.50 per acre on lands within alternate sections of railroad land grants (double minimum lands). Preemption proofs on "unoffered" or unsurveyed lands were required within thirty months after the expiration of the three-month period allowed for the filing of the declaratory statement. Other requirements for making proof were the same. Notice of intent to "prove up" was required to be published each week for not less than thirty days in a legal newspaper near the land. This provided notice to anyone who had an adverse claim to the specific tract so that a contest could be filed. | Preemption Proof - For preemptions, as well as other entries under the federal land laws, the settler was required to give proof that he or she had complied with the legal provisions of the law before receiving title to the land from the government. Hence the term "proving up". Preemptions on "offered" lands required proof and final payment within one year after the date of settlement indicated on the declaratory statement. At that time, the settler was required to complete a form known as a preemption proof, secure the testimony of two witnesses on a similar form, and pay for the land with cash, military bounty warrants, or agricultural college scrip, at the government price, usually $1.25 per acre. This price was $2.50 per acre on lands within alternate sections of railroad land grants (double minimum lands). Preemption proofs on "unoffered" or unsurveyed lands were required within thirty months after the expiration of the three-month period allowed for the filing of the declaratory statement. Other requirements for making proof were the same. Notice of intent to "prove up" was required to be published each week for not less than thirty days in a legal newspaper near the land. This provided notice to anyone who had an adverse claim to the specific tract so that a contest could be filed. | ||
| − | + | ==ScripWarrant Act of 1855== | |
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==THE HOMESTEAD ACT OF 1862== | ==THE HOMESTEAD ACT OF 1862== | ||
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The Homestead Act was a federal law offering "free land" to any man (with some restrictions) willing to settle and improve it. Unsettled government lands (purchased from Indian tribes and foreign countries) were divided into townships, each consisting of 36 sections. Each section was further divided into four "quarter-sections" of approximately 160 acres each. A homestead claim consisted of one quarter-section, and could be obtained by paying only filing fees if all conditions were met. | The Homestead Act was a federal law offering "free land" to any man (with some restrictions) willing to settle and improve it. Unsettled government lands (purchased from Indian tribes and foreign countries) were divided into townships, each consisting of 36 sections. Each section was further divided into four "quarter-sections" of approximately 160 acres each. A homestead claim consisted of one quarter-section, and could be obtained by paying only filing fees if all conditions were met. | ||
| − | The Homestead Act was designed to make land available "free" to those who would live on and cultivate a tract for a period of time, usually five years. Though the filing provisions were similar to the pre-emption requirements, there was no per-acre payment required for the land itself. An individual meeting certain requirements could claim up to 160 acres and not less than forty acres of available public land. | + | The Homestead Act was designed to make land available "free" to those who would live on and cultivate a tract for a period of time, usually five years. Though the filing provisions were similar to the pre-emption requirements, there was no per-acre payment required for the land itself. An individual meeting certain requirements could claim up to 160 acres and not less than forty acres of available public land. Because most of Montana was so arid, few places were able to support a homestead that small. Occasionally, an open range rancher would have someone else homestead around the local watering hole to get exclusive access to it for his cattle. |
Filing a Homestead entry - The settler was required to complete an application affirming that he or she was age twenty-one or the head of a family, a U.S. citizen or had declared intention to become one, not already the owner of 320 acres of land within the United States, that he had not quit or abandoned land owned by him in the same state or territory, and that the homestead would be for his exclusive use. The entry was then recorded in the records of the land office upon payment of a filing fee. If actual residence had not been established, the settler had six months in which to do so. | Filing a Homestead entry - The settler was required to complete an application affirming that he or she was age twenty-one or the head of a family, a U.S. citizen or had declared intention to become one, not already the owner of 320 acres of land within the United States, that he had not quit or abandoned land owned by him in the same state or territory, and that the homestead would be for his exclusive use. The entry was then recorded in the records of the land office upon payment of a filing fee. If actual residence had not been established, the settler had six months in which to do so. | ||
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Preemptions changed to Homesteads - After a person had filed a pre-emption declaratory statement, he could change the filing into a homestead. The time during which the settler had resided on his pre-emption could be credited to the period of residence and cultivation required under the Homestead Act. Other requirements of the homestead law had to be fulfilled as well. | Preemptions changed to Homesteads - After a person had filed a pre-emption declaratory statement, he could change the filing into a homestead. The time during which the settler had resided on his pre-emption could be credited to the period of residence and cultivation required under the Homestead Act. Other requirements of the homestead law had to be fulfilled as well. | ||
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==THE TIMBER CULTURE ACT OF 1873== | ==THE TIMBER CULTURE ACT OF 1873== | ||
