Arizona Land and Property

United States   U.S. Land and Property    Arizona    Land and Property

History
The first land grants in Arizona were given by Spain and Mexico. Some of the early records were kept by the Secretary's Office of New Mexico at http://www.sos.state.nm.us/. A helpful published source of information about these grants is:


 * John R. and Christine Van Ness, Spanish and Mexican Land Grants in New Mexico and Colorado. Manhattan, Kansas: AG Press, 1980. (Family History Library ).

When the United States acquired the area in 1848, it agreed to recognize prior claims. The claims were processed by the U.S. Surveyor General from 1855 to 1890, and by the U.S. Court of Private Land Claims from 1891 to 1903. The Family History Library has microfilm copies of the following records which are located at the Bureau of Land Management, New Mexico State Office. Most of the documents are indexed and written in either English or Spanish:


 * Miscellaneous records for 1695-1842. (Family History Library ; use Vigil's Index, 1681-1846, on .)
 * Land titles kept by the Secretary of the Territory for the years 1847-1852. (Family History Library ; use Vigil's Index, 1681-1846, on .)
 * U.S. Surveyor General's records for 1855-1890. (Family History Library ; the index is on .)
 * U.S. Court of Private Land Claims 1891-1903. (Family History Library .)

Public Domain Land
Unclaimed land became public domain and was surveyed and sold to private owners through land offices. The first General Land Office was established in 1870 at Prescott. Other offices were at Florence, Tucson, and Phoenix, Arizona. Most of these records, along with mining, timber, and homestead entries, are at the National Archives—Pacific Region (Laguna Niguel). at http://www.archives.gov/pacific/riverside/. A few are at the National Archives Rocky Mountain Region (Denver).

Land entry cases and indexes to pre-1908 patents are located at the National Archives. Patents and tract books are at Bureau of Land Management, Arizona State Office

The Bureau of Land Management has an index and digital images of the original survey maps for Arizona. The original survey creates land boundaries and marks them for the first time.

Most of the land in Arizona was originally obtained from the US federal government by patent. These General Land Office Records are searchable online and most have free images of patents to download. The minimum information needed for a search is the state where the land is located and the name of the person receiving the patent.

Subsequent transfers of land between private owners were recorded in each county.

Private Land Records
All land and property records are kept by the Recorder in each county. These records include maps of subdivisions. Deed records are indexed by Grantor and Grantee. Mortgages and Miscelaneous records are also indexed.

The Maricopa County Recorder has led the way in Arizona and accross the nation to make recorded records available online, with images of all records from 1 Jan 1871 to present being made available online without charge. Most other counties permit online access only to recent records.