Nebraska Land and Property

Nebraska is a public domain state, in which land is surveyed and transferred to private ownership through federal land offices. (See the United States Research Outline for more information.) Settlers could either purchase the land or, after the passage of the National Homestead Act in 1862, receive homesteads.

The first land office in Nebraska was established at Omaha in 1855. The Family History Library has research handbooks for many counties describing the evolution of the land office districts.

Each local land office kept tract books and township plats. Records of the land offices and microfilm copies of all tracts are at the Nebraska State Historical Society. The society has a card index to the tract books of about ten counties. You can write to the society for a reference leaflet on Nebraska land laws and records.

Homestead applications and other land office records are available from:

Textual Reference Branch National Archives and Records Administration 7th and Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, DC 20408 Telephone: 202-501-5395 Fax: 202-219-6273 Internet: http://www.archives.gov/

The United States Research Outline (30972) has instructions for ordering copies.

Patents and copies of tract books and township plats are at the:

Bureau of Land Management 2515 Warren Avenue Cheyenne, WY 82003 Telephone: 307-775-6001 Fax: 307-775-6082 Internet: http://www.blm.gov/rmp/WY/

Mailing Address: Box 1828 Cheyenne, WY 82003

You will need a legal description of the land to search these files effectively.

A large section of land was granted to the Union Pacific Railroad, which then sold it to settlers through its own land offices. Many of the records of these transactions were destroyed in a fire. The Burlington Railroad also sold land. Microfilm copies of these records are at the Nebraska State Historical Society.

After land has been transferred to private ownership, subsequent transactions are recorded at county offices. The Family History Library does not have copies of the county land records. You can obtain copies of deeds and mortgages from the recorder in each county.