Arkansas Land and Property

Online Resources

 * Pre-1908 Land Patents - Arkansas at MyHeritage ($)
 * Pre-1908 Arkansas, Homestead and Cash Entry Patents, Pre-1908 at Ancestry; abstracts ($)
 * 1820-1908 at FamilySearch; images — How to Use this Collection
 * 1822-1986 Arkansas State Land records, 1822-1986 (Arkansas Digital Archives)
 * Bureau of Land Management Land Patent
 * Arkansas Land Records -- Interactive Search
 * Index to land patents at the Bureau of Land Management (Free)
 * Under Location select "Arkansas" and a county
 * Under Names enter at least the surname
 * Click the Image icon for a digital image of the original patent


 * Original survey plats at the Bureau of Land Management (Free)
 * Under Location select the state and county
 * Enter the land description (section, township, range, and meridian) if you know it


 * Arkansas, Homestead and Cash Entry Patents, Pre-1908 at Ancestry ($)


 * AR County Data, select the county, enter a surname, and click Search
 * Gives land description and current property owners, some of whom may live elsewhere.


 * Arkansas Land Records Research at Genealogy Inc.

History
When the United States organized the Missouri Territory in 1812, it agreed to recognize the private land grants previously issued by Spain and Mexico. Most of these are in Arkansas and Desha Counties. A preemption law of 1814 gave those already living on the land the first right to claim the land. Private land claims commissions were established to process these claims. Private claims to 1837 in the American State Papers are indexed in:
 * McMullin, Phillip W. Grassroots of America. Salt Lake City, Utah: Gendex Corp., 1972..

Another helpful publication is:


 * First Settlers of the Missouri Territory, 2 vols. Nacogdoches, Texas: Ericson Books, 1983. .) Volume l has the grants from the American State Papers, class 8, public lands. Volume 2 has the grants in the present states of Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma.

Indian Tribes--As the various Indian tribes were removed from the area, their land became the public domain. The land was surveyed and sold by the United States government through land offices, in a process called land-entry. The first general land offices were established in 1818. Records of the land offices are located in the Arkansas State Land Commission Office.

Land Records
Patents--The patent records are located at the Bureau of Land Management, Eastern States Office. The Bureau of Land Management has an online index to land patents in Arkansas which may provide a digital image of the original patent.

Land-entry Case Files--The land-entry case files and applications of those who settled in Arkansas after the Homestead Act of 1862 are in the National Archives. All of the above files are arranged according to legal descriptions of the land.

Land Tract Books--The FamilySearch Library has the land tract books and original survey plats on microfilm. The Bureau of Land Management has digital images of the original survey plats. The original survey creates land boundaries and marks them for the first time.

Subsequent transfers of land between private owners were recorded by the clerk of the circuit or county court. Some counties have two courthouses where the documents could have been filed. The FamilySearch Library has microfilm copies of most of the county deeds and indexes.