U. S. GENERAL LAND OFFICE:

For each parcel of land they give its legal description, acreage, price, name of purchaser or transferree, sale date and certificate number or other disposition data, name of final patentee, date of final patent, and citation to the patent record in the General Land Office records.

Some text is faint or obscure, due to poor condition of the original paper and/or ink. The original records may be made available if data proves to be illegible on the microfilm (see Access Restrictions below).

The index, organized by range and township, cites the volume(s) and page(s) in the original entry tract books.

Supplemented by two unfilmed volumes for lands in north central and far western Minnesota containing some entries and/or patent information that is not recorded in the main set of tract books.

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The records are arranged in the following sections.

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Access Restrictions:

Microfilmed originals (55.5 cubic feet) and master microfiche (1008 microfiche) are held by the Minnesota Historical Society and closed to general use.

In the case of records being illegible on the microfilm, the original records may be consulted. They are located off site in Remote Storage, however, and advance arrangements are required in order to view the files.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. United States. General Land Office. Original Entry Tract Books and Index. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Microfilm Production:

Microfilm. Saint Paul, MN : Minnesota Historical Society, 1984. 46 microfilm reels : 35 mm.

Microfiche. Burbank, CA and Saint Paul, MN : P.F.A., Inc. and Minnesota Historical Society, 1984. 1008 microfiche : 16 mm.

Accession Information:

Accession numbers: 985-1; 985-2

Processing Information:

Catalog ID number: 001704783

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Organized by range and township; it cites the volume(s) and page(s) on which entries for land in a particular township appear. This index is also included on the first reel of the microfilmed Original Entry Tract Books and in a print version in the repository’s microfilm reading room.

The index was also filmed at the beginning of reel 1 in the following set of microfilm and is available in a print version in the Minnesota Historical Society's microfilm reading room.

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Tract books kept by the Minnesota local offices of the General Land Office to provide a consolidated record of the initial transfer of title to federal land from the United States to private parties or to the state of Minnesota. For each parcel of land they give its legal description, acreage, price, name of purchaser or transferree, sale date and certificate number or other disposition data, name of final patentee, date of final patent, and citation to the patent record in the General Land Office records.

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These volumes include some entries and/or patent information not recorded in the main set.

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Access restricted. Closed to general use, researchers are directed to use the microfilm.

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Access restricted. Closed to general use, researchers are directed to use the microfilm.

Created from the microfilm to distribute to Department of Natural Resources [DNR] field offices. Positive copies were given to the DNR; the Minnesota Historical Society retained the negative copies.

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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 titles -- Registration and transfer -- Minnesota.

Public land sales -- Minnesota.

Public lands -- Minnesota.

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