Alaska Land and Property

The first Organic Act, passed in 1884, extended the laws of Oregon to Alaska. Alaska became a public domain state, in which unclaimed land was surveyed and sold by the federal government. The first general land office was established at Sitka, Alaska in 1885.

The National Archives has land-entry case files and a card index to 1908 containing only 56 cash entries and 133 homestead patents for the entire state. Patents, tract books, and township plats are at:

Bureau of Land Management 222 W. 7th Avenue #13 Anchorage AK 99513-7599 Telephone 907-271-5555 Fax 907-272-3430 Internet: http://www.blm.gov/ak/st/en.html

The National Archives—Pacific Alaska Region (Seattle) at http://www.archives.gov/pacific-alaska/seattle/ has copies of the tract books, township plats, and other records of the general land offices. The Alaska State Archives has descriptions and maps of mining claims.

Land that had been transferred by sale or grant to private ownership could be sold again, inherited, lost by foreclosure of a mortgage, or distributed through a divorce. Records of these subsequent transactions, including deeds, mortgages, and other property records, are filed at the office of the district recorder in each judicial district. The Family History Library has not acquired copies of the land records available in Alaska.