Land Patents

Five pieces of legislation by the U. S. Congress have affected the transfer of public lands to private ownership in Jackson County:

• The Donation Land Claim (DLC) Act of September 27, 1850
• The Homestead Act of May 20, 1862
• The Sale-Cash Entry Act of April 24, 1820
• The Scrip/Warrant Act of March 3, 1855
• The O & C Act of June 1, 1916

Our library volunteers have separated out all 6, 268 Jackson County land patent claims issued under under one or another of these authorizations. These are shown in the index below. Also included with the database are the federal document numbers and the particular piece of legislation under which the patent was issued. Armed with this information, you can obtain the land entry case file from the National Archives and Records Administration. This case file typically has information of considerable genealogical interest. To obtain the case file, you must complete Form NATF84 and mail it to NARA with a check for $25. The downloadable form and additional information is available by following this link, NARA.

Information on individual land patents can also be found from the Bureau of Land Management's Government Land Office by following this link, Government Land Office.

Our library can provide a township map and a companion map showing topographical features and in many cases cabin sites and the locations of cultivated fields as well as the roads linking farms within the county and beyond to California to the South and the Umpqua Valley to the North. The legal descriptions from the BLM website showing boundaries of each claim, the claim number, and the name of each claimant will be provided as a convenience to you if you request the township map and companion area map. If you would like us to provide these maps, follow the link below to display the request form. Complete and print the form, then mail it to us at the address on the form along with a check for $10 and a self-addressed, stamped envelope. The legal description of the land and the maps showing it's location will be returned to you in that envelope.

Patent Map Request Form.

Approximately 360 claims in Jackson County were made under the Donation Land Claims Act, some of which were denied for one reason or another. For these claims we can provide additional information from holdings in our library. This additional information includes: the former place of residence of the claimant; the date when he or she arrived on the land; the name of the marital partner and place and date of the marriage; the names of neighbors affirming the claim, and occasionally additional information.

If you find someone of interest in the database below and the Source entry shows the claim to have been made under the Donation Land Claim Act, you can request a copy of this additional information by following the Postal Request Form link below. Complete, and print the request form, then mail it to us at the address on the form along with a check for $10 and a stamped, self-addressed envelope. We will mail you the abstracted information on the claim. All information for a given name will be included for a single fee.

Postal Request Form

For faster turnaround, use the "Buy Now" button below to make a secure online payment using your major credit card. The displayed form asks for the information we will need to fulfill your request. Our librarian will scan the abstracted information you have requested and send it to you via email as an attachment. It will be sent as a .jpg (picture) file. When you receive this .jpg file, click on it and it will be loaded into your picture viewer from which you can print a hard copy by clicking on File and then on Print.

Donation Land Claim

All abstracts for one name $10.00

How to order:

Specify person's name Specify document numbers Order records for only one name

Last name, first name

Document numbers