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CHAPTER V.


PUBLIC LANDS.


LANDS RECEIVED FROM THE INTERIOR DEPARTMENT--STATE UNIVERSITY LANDS--COMMON SCHOOL LANDS--SALINE LANDS-PENITENTIARY LANDS--PUBLIC BUILDING LANDS-- STATE NORMAL SCHOOL ENDOWMENT LANDS--UNION PACIFIC R. R. LANDS--BURLINGTON & MISSOURI RIVER R. R. LANDS--GOVERNMENT LANDS--THE HOMESTEAD LAW--PRE-EMPTION LAW--TIMBER CULTURE ACT.

     As stated in another portion of this work, the State of Nebraska contains an area of 75,995 square miles, or over 48,500,000 acres of land, and it is the purpose of the writer to show in this Chapter, as nearly as possible, what portion of this vast domain has been disposed of, and for what purposes, as also what remains undisposed of, at the commencement of the year 1879.

     The State of Nebraska has received from the General Government grants of lands amounting in the aggregate to upwards of 3,370,000 acres, as follows:

For Internal Improvement

500,000

 "   Agricultural College

90,000

 "   University

46,080

 "   Public Buildings

12,800

 "   Penitentiary

32,000

 "   Saline purposes

46,080

For Common School purposes, sections 16

   and 36 in every township, which will

   amount in the aggregate, as estimated,

   to

2,643,080

Making the total grant to the State

3,370,040

XCXIII


94

JOHNSON'S HISTORY OF NEBRASKA

     The 500,000 acres for internal improvement purposes, were granted to the State upon its admission to the Union, under the provisions of an Act of Congress, approved September 4th, 1841. These lands were selected through agents appointed for that purpose, and disposed of in pursuance of the provisions of an Act of the Legislature, approved February 15th 1869.

     The following exhibit is taken from the report of the Commissioner of Public Lands, as published for the year 1878. It shows when these lands were received from the General Government, the amount, and how they were disposed of:

ACCOUNT OF LANDS RECEIVED FROM THE INTERIOR DEPARTMENT.

March 29th, 1870, received

359,708.06

acres.

October 13th 1871

94,232.96

"

June 17th, 1872,

18,441.22

"

May 27th, 1873,

22,213.01

"

January 7th, 1874,

880.00

"

February 24th, 1874

  8,656.61

"

Making a total of

504,131.86

acres

Deduct from the above the difference between

   short and full sections--short sections being

   charged in the above list as full sections

  3,319.86

acres

Which leaves a real total of

500,812.00

acres

HOW DISPOSED OF--TO WHOM.

Deeded to Saline County for Bridges

1,000.00

acres

Deeded to Gage County for Bridges

1,000.00

"

Deeded to Elkhorn & Mo. Valley R. R.

100,030.32

"

Deeded to Midland Pacific R. R.

100,384.08

"

Deeded to Brownville & Fort Kearney R. R.

19,989.12

"

Deeded to Burlington & Missouri River R. R.

50,104.77

"

Deeded to Sioux City & Pacific R. R.

47,327.10

"

Deeded to Omaha & Southwestern R. R.

100,010.00

"

Deeded to Omaha & Northwestern R. R.

80,410.24

"

Deeded to Burlington & Southwestern R. R.

20,000.00,

"

Deeded to Atchison & Nebraska R. R.

  12,841.54

"

533,103,17

acres

Disposed of in excess of grant

32,291.17

acres

     The amount deeded in excess of grant occurred in deeding the same parcel of lands to the Burlington & Southwestern


JOHNSON'S HISTORY OF NEBRASKA

95

on June 20th, 1870, that were deeded to the Omaha & South-western Road on October 10th, 1862, viz.: 20.000 acres. There are, however, 12,291 acres that was deeded in excess of the 500,000 acres as granted by the Act of Congress referred to, that ar [sic] note accounted for in the above statement.

STATE UNIVERSITY LANDS.

     By an Act of Congress, approved April 19th, 1864, seventy two sections of the unappropriated lands in the State of Nebraska were donated to the State for the use and support of a State University. The selection of these lands was made by the authorized agents of the State, which were confirmed by the Interior Department, on the 17th of February, 1874. The lands were located as follows:

County.

No. of Acres.

County.

No. of Acres.

Webster

17,803.48

Knox

4,800.00

Nuckolls

4,916.68

Dakota

320.00

Cedar

1,600.00

Dixon

640.00

Pierce

3,197.67

Holt

8,322.10

Madison

2,240.00

Antelope

  1,280.00

45,119.93

Total amount donated by Congress

46,080.00

Amount due from the United States

960.07

 

AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE LANDS.

     Under an Act of Congress, approved July 2d, 1862, donating public lands to the several States and Territories which may provide Colleges for the benefit of agriculture and the mechanic arts, military tactics, etc., a tract of land equal to thirty thousand acres for each Senator and Representative in Congress, to which Nebraska was entitled by the apportionment under the census of 1860, was selected by the State, and confirmed by the Interior Department as follows:

September 20th, 1871, selections made and con-

   firmed for

11,504.96

acres.

December 8th, 1871, selections made and con-

   firmed for

77,947.82

"
Making a total of

89,452.78

acres

Located as follows:


96

JOHNSON'S HISTORY OF NEBRASKA

County.

Amount of Land.

County.

Amount of Land.

Knox

33,490.64

Stanton

320.00

Cedar

27,677.96

Burt

640.00

Wayne

15,648.98

Dixon

2240.00

Pierce

7,835.20

Cuming

960.00.

Dakota

640.00

------------

Total selections

89,452.78

Amount donated by Congress

90,000.00

Amount due from the U. S.

547.22

COMMON SCHOOL LANDS.

     The following statement shows the number of acres of Common School lands belonging to the State on the 30th day of November, 1878, and the Counties in which such lands are located:

County.

Acres.

County.

Acres.

Adams

20,000

Lancaster

27,881

Antelope

31,400

Madison

24,311.88

Boone

23,040

Merrick

15,033.53

Burt

16,997.88

Nuckolls

20,440

Buffalo

29,700.59

Nemaha

10,801.11

Butler

21,480

Otoe

19,986.88

Cuming

19,740

Pawnee

16,610

Colfax

14,225.28

Pierce

19,200

Clay

21,040

Phelps

20,247.85

Cass

16,242.18

Platte

24,029.09

Cedar

27,499.14

Polk

16,508.94

Dakota

5,989.14

Red Willow

25,574.01

Dixon

15,689

Richardson

8,830

Dodge

16,408.83

Saline

18,349

Douglas

8,444.72

Sarpy

7,087.66

Filmore

20,308.51

Saunders

25,253.25

Franklin

20,471.85

Seward

19,350

Furnas

24,654.15

Sherman

20,752.20

Hamilton

20,480

Stanton

14,730

Hall

19,635.26

Thayer

20,036.72

Harlan

20,433.93

Valley

20,484

Howard

23,299.30

Wayne

15,360

Gage

22,028.31

Washington

12,300.26

Greeley

20,555.20

Webster

20,480

Jefferson

14,419.53

York

20,480

Johnson

12,188

Pawnee

*2,240

Kearney

16,830.70

Lancaster

*320

Knox

26,238.82

----------------

Total

1,026,067.68

* Deeded to the State by A. J. Cropsey.
*   "     "     "   Esther L. Warren.

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