What is a Land Patent?
Land Patents were the method in which the United States Government transferred ownership of a surveyed parcel of land to a land owner. There were three ways for land to be claimed: purchase the land, homestead the land or be the recipient of land by an Act of Congress. In order for a land patent to be issued, the potential land owner went to the land office in the land district of the land, for our area that was Steubenville. The claim was verified by the district land office to make sure no other claims were made. At this time, the land owner made payment either for the land or the associated fees. Once the claim was filed at the district level, that paperwork was forwarded on to the General Land Office in Washington, DC. Here the claim was again validated and the official land patent was sent on to the President of the United States for a signature.
Federal Land Patent Information
You can search the land records database, Federal Land Patent Search, to find copies of the original land patents. This database covers all of the United States. Helpful information to have before you start your search, is the township, range and section number of the land. For more information regarding how to find out this information for Plain Township and other Stark County Townships, please refer to the Sections and Quarters menu option under Land.
Another useful reference to understanding how Ohio lands develop is The Official Ohio Lands Book: Publication of the Auditor of State – George W. Knepper – 2002
Original Land Patent from the Federal Land Patent Database for Plain Township by Section:
The land patents for Section 16 were controlled by the State of Ohio and are not available through the Federal Land Patent database. The state used the proceeds from the sale of the land to fund schools.
