GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY COMPANY (U.S.). LAND DEPARTMENT:

Sales and accounting records (1893-1969) and contract and deed registers (1867-1954) record the sale of land parcels, including townsite lots, to settlers, speculators, and developers, often on a contract basis. Annual reports (1872-1919) document the ongoing management of land holdings, as well as dispositions. Miscellaneous advertising materials (1890-1910) show techniques used to lure settlers and to sell land parcels. Many of the records were originally created by the Great Northern's predecessor, the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba Railway, and record the disposition of its granted lands in Minnesota (swamp land grants) and North Dakota.

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These documents are organized into the following sections:

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Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Land Department Records. Great Northern Railway Corporate Records. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession numbers: 847; 2165; 4093; 4482; 4483; 4484; 4485; 4486; 4487; 4488; 4489; 4490; 4491; 4494; 4495; 4496; 4497; 4498; 4499; 5293

Processing Information:

Catalog ID number: 1719924

Work on the Great Northern railway company records was supported with funds by the Northwest Area Foundation, the Grotto Foundation, and the Jerome Foundation.

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Printed advertising materials issued by the company's land department for the purpose of inducing purchase of the railroad's granted lands and settlement along its lines. Some of the materials (intended to spur foreign immigration to Minnesota) are in German, Polish, and Scandinavian languages. Also included are some sectional maps showing company lands available for purchase at various dates and circulars listing the legal descriptions of lands available at various times during the 1898-1904 period. One folder also contains samples of forms developed and used by the land department, consisting primarily of various land contract and deed forms.

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These documents are financial records of the ownership and sale of granted and miscellaneous lands.

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Records provide complete synopses of all activities resulting from each Great Northern and St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba land sale. The volumes are chronologically arranged by the date of each land contract. Each contract's entry provides dates of contract and deed, purchaser, description of the parcel, payment record, price, and other remarks. There are separate volumes for the Railway's Dakota land grant and for its grant of Minnesota swamp lands.

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Records are of cash received on land sale contracts. The volumes are chronologically arranged and are a daily record of cash received by way of payments on land contracts. The record of each receipt includes the number of the land contract to which it is credited.

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The cash disbursements book is a record of Great Northern cash disbursements charged to the company's land account, arranged on a chronological basis.

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Record of land sales within Great Northern townsites. Volumes are arranged by townsite and, within each townsite, by lot number. The volumes contain basic information pertaining to the sale of each lot, including dates and numbers of contracts and deeds, purchaser, price, value, and other data.

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Records of sale of tracts in Minnesota are arranged geographically and contain basic sale information on each unit of swamp land sold by the Great Northern Railway Company and its predecessors the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba and the Minneapolis and St. Cloud railways.

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The volume, which is geographically arranged, shows the amount in taxes paid on each unit of Great Northern swamp land in Minnesota for each year in the period from 1897-1937.

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Books recording land contracts issued by St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba Railway and Great Northern Railway enumerate and describe the land contracts issued by the two companies in chronological order by contract number. There is a separate leaf for each contract, each contains the following information: contract number, legal description of land, acreage, price per acre, total price, purchaser, post office, contract date, sales agent, payment schedule and amounts, and party contract was sent to.

Contract nos. 1-25,531 (July 1879-October 1907) were issued by the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba Railway. The remainder were issued by the Great Northern Railway.

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Books recording land deeds issued by St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba Railway and Great Northern Railway in chronological order by deed number. There is a separate leaf for each deed which includes deed date and number, contract date and number, description of land parcel, purchaser, purchase price, and record of payments made on contract for deed.

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Books recording land contracts and deeds pertaining to townsite lots. The deed and contract books record all information basic to the contracts and deeds issued with regard to land sales within the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba Railway and Great Northern Railway townsites.

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Books recording land contracts and deeds pertaining to townsites which were issued in trust. The deed and contract books record all information basic to the contracts and deeds issued with regard to land sales within St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba Railway and Great Northern Railway townsites and which were held in trust for the purchaser by a third party.

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Books recording land contracts pertaining to the Railway's land holdings in Todd County, Minnesota. The books enumerate the Todd County land contracts issued by the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba Railway in chronological order by contract number. There is a separate leaf for each contract; each leaf contains the following information: contract number, legal description of land, acreage, price per acre, total price, purchaser, post office, contract date, sales agent, and the party to whom the contract was sent (purchaser, trustee, and others).

All contracts precede the assumption of St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba land business by the Great Northern. They are included with the main line land records because they are an integral part of the series of land contract and deed books.

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Books recording land deeds issued by the company covering lands located in Todd County, Minnesota. The deed books record all information basic to the deeds issued by the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba and Great Northern with regard to the sale of the companies' land holdings in Todd County, Minnesota.

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Books recording land contracts and deeds pertaining to the railways' land grants in North Dakota. The books enumerate the contracts and deeds to Dakota lands issued by the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba and the Great Northern in chronological order by contract or deed number. There is a separate leaf for each contract; each leaf contains the following information: contract/deed number, legal description of land, acreage, price per acre, total price, purchaser, post office, contract/deed date, and sales agent. In addition, the contract books give the payment schedule and amount and the deed books contain a record of payments received and the final disposition of the contract.

Contract nos. 1DG-213DG (Jan. 1893-Sept. 1907), and deed nos. 1DG-224DG (October 1893-October 1907) were issued by the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba; the remainder were issued by Great Northern.

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Books recording land contracts pertaining to the railways' Minnesota swamp lands grant. The contract books enumerate the swamp land grant contracts issued by the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba and the Great Northern in chronological order by contract number. There is a separate leaf for each contract; each contains the following information: contract number, legal description of land, acreage, price per acre, total price, purchaser, post office, contract date, sales agent, payment schedule and amounts, and the part the contract was sent to (purchaser, trustee, and others).

Contracts 1S-51S (May 1884-January 1888) were issued by the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba Railway Company; the remainder were issued by Great Northern.

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Books recording land deeds pertaining to the railways' swamp lands. The deed books record all information basic to the deeds issued by the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba and Great Northern with regard to sale of the company's swamp land holdings in Minnesota.

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Books recording all information basic to the miscellaneous land contracts and deeds issued by the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba, and Great Northern railway companies with regard to sale of various company land holdings in Minnesota and North Dakota.

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Annual reports of the land department to the president and/or board of directors.

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For additional records relating to property taxation and right-of-way development matters see the Right-of-Way, Land and Tax records.

See inventories for St. Paul and Pacific Railway Company and St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba Railway Company for related series of records.

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This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

Land companies -- Northwestern States.

Land settlement -- Northwestern States.

Land subdivision -- Northwestern States.

Railroad land grants -- North Dakota.

Railroad land grants -- Minnesota.

Real estate business -- Northwestern States.

Real property -- Prices -- Northwestern States.

Land titles -- Registration and transfer -- Northwestern States.

Organizations:

Great Northern Railway Company (U.S.).

St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba Railway Company.

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