# United States Statutes at Large/Volume 2/8th Congress/1st Session/Chapter 35

Chap. XXXV.—An Act making provision for the disposal of the public lands in the Indiana territory, and for other purposes.
Powers of the surveyor-general extended over all the lands of the U. States north of the Ohio, and east of the Mississippi; and he shall cause them to be laid off into townships.Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the powers vested by law in the surveyor-general, shall extend over all the public lands of the United States to which the Indian title has been or shall hereafter be extinguished, north of the river Ohio, and east of the river Mississippi; and it shall be the duty of the said surveyor-general to cause the said lands to be surveyed into townships, six miles square, and divided in the same manner and under the same regulations, and to do and perform all such other acts in relation to the said lands, as is provided by law in relation to the lands of the United States, situate northwest of the river Ohio and above the mouth of Kentucky river:Expenses of surveying not to exceed three dollars per mile. Tracts claimed to be laid out at the expense of the claimant. Indian boundary lines to be run and marked. Provided, that the whole expense of surveying and marking the lines shall not exceed three dollars for every mile that shall be actually run, surveyed and marked: And provided also, that such tracts of land as are lawfully claimed by individuals within the said boundaries, and the title whereto has been or shall be recognized by the United States, shall be laid out and surveyed at the expense of the parties respectively, in conformity with the true boundaries of such tracts. And it shall also be the duty of the said surveyor-general to cause to be run, surveyed and marked such of the Indian boundary lines of the said lands, as have not yet been surveyed; and with the approbation of the President of the United States to ascertain by astronomical observations the positions of such places north of the river Ohio and east of the Mississippi, as may be deemed necessary for the correctness of the surveys, and to be the most important points of the geography of the country.
Land-offices established at Detroit, Vincennes and Kaskaskia.Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That for the disposal of the lands of the United States, north of the river Ohio and east of the river Mississippi, in the Indiana territory, three land-offices shall be established in the same, one at Detroit for the lands lying north of the state of Ohio to which the Indian title has been extinguished; one at Vincennes for the lands to which the Indian title has been extinguished, and which ​are included within the boundaries fixed by the treaty lately held with the Indian tribes of the Wabash; and one at Kaskaskia, for so much of the lands included within the boundaries fixed by the treaty of the thirteenth of August, one thousand eight hundred and three, with the Kaskaskia tribe of Indians, as is not claimed by any other Indian tribe:Register and receiver of public monies appointed for each of them. Duties and emoluments of these officers. and for each of the said offices a register and a receiver of public monies shall be appointed, who shall give security in the same manner, in the same sums, and whose compensation, emoluments and duties, and authority, shall, in every respect, be the same in relation to the lands which shall be disposed of at their offices, as are or may be by law provided, in relation to the registers and the receivers of public monies in the several offices established for the disposal of the lands of the United States north of the river Ohio, and above the mouth of Kentucky river.
Persons claiming lands described in the preceding sections, under grants from the French, British or United States governments to deliver to the registers of the land-offices of the districts in which the lands are situated, statements of the extent of their claims. Which shall be recorded. Fees demandable for the same. Neglect to deliver notice.Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That every person claiming lands within any of the three tracts of land described in the preceding section, by virtue of any legal grant made by the French government, prior to the treaty of Paris, of the tenth of February, one thousand seven hundred and sixty-three, or of any legal grant made by the British government, subsequent to the said treaty, and prior to the treaty of peace between the United States and Great Britain, of the third of September, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-three, or of any resolution, or act of Congress, subsequent to the said treaty of peace, shall, on or before the first day of January, one thousand eight hundred and five, deliver to the register of the land-office, within whose district the land may lie, a notice in writing, stating the nature and extent of his claims, together with a plot of the tract or tracts claimed, and may also, on or before that day, deliver to the said register, for the purpose of being recorded, every grant, order of survey, deed, conveyance, or other written evidence of his claim; and the same shall be recorded by the said register, in books to be kept for that purpose, on receiving from the parties at the rate of twelve and a half cents, for every hundred words contained in such written evidence of their claim; and if such person shall neglect to deliver such notice, in writing, of his claim, or to cause to be recorded such written evidence of the same, all his right, so far as the same is derived from any resolution or act of Congress, shall become void, and for every be barred.
The registers to be commissioners in their respective districts. Oath of office.Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That the register, and receiver of public monies, of the three above mentioned land-offices, shall, for the lands respectively lying within their districts, be commissioners for the purpose of examining the claims of persons claiming lands by virtue of the preceding sections. Each of the said commissioners shall, previous to entering on the duties of his appointment, respectively, take and subscribe the following oath or affirmation, before some person qualified to administer the same: “I, do solemnly swear, (or affirm,) that I will impartially exercise and discharge the duties imposed upon me, as commissioner for examining the claims to land, by an act of Congress, intituled An act making provision for the disposal of the public lands in the Indiana territory, and for other purposes.”
Their duties. The commissioners to meet in the several districts and to decide upon claims: invested with power to compel the attendance of witnesses to examine them: To report their proceedings to Congress. The board to have power to appoint clerks. Duty of clerks. Books and papers, upon the dissolution of the board, to be lodged in the offices of the registers of the land-offices. Clerks to prepare transcripts of the decisions of the boards. Commissioners to make report to the Secretary of the Treasury of the claims rejected by them, with the substance of the evidence adduced in their support. Secretary of the Treasury to report these with the transcripts of claims admitted to Congress. Compensation to the commissioners and clerks. Official oath of the clerks. All the lands with certain exceptions, to be sold, on what terms and where. Salt springs.It shall be the duty of the said commissioners to meet at the places where the said land-offices are by this act established, respectively, on or before the first day of January, one thousand eight hundred and five; and each board shall, in their respective districts, have power to hear in a summary manner all matters respecting such claims; also to compel the attendance of witnesses, to administer oaths, and examine witnesses, and such other testimony as may be adduced, and to decide thereon according to justice and equity, which decision shall be laid before Congress in the manner herein after directed, and be subject to their decision thereon. The said boards, respectively, shall have power to appoint a clerk, whose duty it shall be to enter in a book to be kept for ​that purpose, full and correct minutes of their proceedings and decisions, together with the evidence on which such decisions are made; which books and papers, on the dissolution of the boards, shall be deposited in the respective offices of the registers of the land-offices; and the said clerk shall prepare two transcripts of all the decisions made by the said commissioners in favour of the claimants to land, both of which shall be signed by the said commissioners, and one of which shall be transmitted to the surveyor-general, and the other to the Secretary of the Treasury; and the lands, the claims to which shall have been thus affirmed by the commissioners, shall not be otherwise disposed of, until the decision of Congress thereupon shall have been made. It shall likewise be the duty of the said commissioners to make to the Secretary of the Treasury a full report of all the claims filed with the register of the proper land-office, as above directed, which they may have rejected, together with the substance of the evidence adduced in support thereof, and such remarks thereon as they may think proper: which reports, together with the transcripts of the decisions of the commissioners in favour of claimants, shall be laid by the Secretary of the Treasury before Congress at their next ensuing session. Each of the commissioners and clerks aforesaid, shall be allowed a compensation of five hundred dollars in full for his services as such; and each of the said clerks shall, previous to his entering on the duties of his office, take and subscribe the following oath or affirmation, to wit: “I, do solemnly swear, (or affirm,) that I will truly and faithfully discharge the duties of a clerk to the board of commissioners for examining the claims to land, as enjoined by an act of Congress, intituled An act making provision for the disposal of the public lands in the Indiana territory, and for other purposes.”
Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That all the lands aforesaid, not excepted by virtue of the preceding section, shall, with the exception of the section “number sixteen,” which shall be reserved in each township for the support of schools within the same, with the exception also of an entire township in each of the three above-described tracts of country or districts, to be located by the Secretary of the Treasury, for the use of a seminary of leaning, and with the exception also of the salt springs and lands reserved for the use of the same as herein after directed, be offered for sale to the highest bidder, under the direction of the surveyor-general, or governor of the Indiana territory, of the register of the land-office, and of the receiver of public monies, at the places respectively, where the land-offices are kept, and on such day or days as shall, by a public proclamation of the President of the United States, be designated for that purpose. The sales shall remain open at each place for three weeks and no longer: the lands shall not be sold for less than two dollars an acre, and shall in every other respect, be sold in tracts of the same size and on the same terms and conditions as have been or may be by law providedAct of May 18, 1796, ch. 29. Lands remaining unsold after three weeks may be disposed of at private sale. Act of May 18, 1796, ch. 29. for the lands sold north of the river Ohio, and above the mouth of Kentucky river. All lands, other than the reserved sections and those excepted as above mentioned, remaining unsold at the closing of the public sales, may be disposed of at private sale, by the registers of the respective land-offices, in the same manner, under the same regulations, for the same price, and on the same terms and conditions, as are or may be provided by law for the sale of the lands of the United States north of the river Ohio, and above the mouth of Kentucky river. And patents shall be obtained for all lands granted or sold in the Indiana territory, in the same manner and on the same terms as is or may be provided by law for lands sold in the state of Ohio, and in the Mississippi territory.
Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That all the navigable rivers, creeks and waters, within the Indiana territory, shall be deemed to be ​All the navigable rivers, &c. in the Indiana territory to be public highways. Salt springs, with contiguous sections reserved for the disposal of the United States. Surreptitious grants of salt springs null and void. Provisions in favour of purchases under J. C. Symmes continued in force till June next. Act of May 1, 1802, ch. 44. The register and receiver of the land-office at Cincinnati. No right of pre-emption to be granted except in favour of persons who had contracted with John Cleves Symmes, &c. after January 1, 1800. Persons who hold such certificates allowed until 1806, to complete the payment of the first instalment. Proviso in favour of persons who have made improvements.and remain public highways; and the several salt springs in the said territory, together with as many contiguous sections to each, as shall be deemed necessary by the President of the United States, shall be reserved for the future disposal of the United States: and any grant which may hereafter be made for a tract of land, containing a salt spring which had been discovered previous to the purchase of such tract from the United States, shall be considered as fraudulent and null.
Sec. 7. And be it further enacted, That the several provisions made in favour of persons who have contracted for lands with John Cleves Symmes and his associates, by an act intituled “An act to extend and continue in force the provisions of an act intituled An act giving a right of pre-emption to certain persons, who have contracted with John Cleves Symmes or his associates, for lands lying between the Miami rivers in the territory northwest of the Ohio, and for other purposes,” shall be and the same are hereby continued in force until the first day of June next: Provided, that the register of the land-office and receiver of public monies at Cincinnati shall perform the same duties, exercise the same powers, and enjoy the same emoluments, which by the last-recited act were enjoined on or vested in the commissioners designated by the said act: And provided also, that no certificate for a right of pre-emption shall be granted, except in favour of persons who had, before the first day of January, one thousand eight hundred, made contracts in writing with John Cleves Symmes or with any of his associates, and who had made to him or them any payment or payments of money for the purchase of lands; nor unless at least one twentieth part of the purchase money of the land claimed, shall have previously been paid to the receiver of public monies, or shall be paid prior to the first day of January next. And every person who shall obtain a certificate of pre-emption, shall be allowed until the first day of January, one thousand eight hundred and six, to complete the payment of his first instalment: And provided also, that where any person or persons shall, in virtue of a contract entered into with John Cleves Symmes, have entered and made improvements on any section or half section prior to the first day of April last (having conformed with all the foregoing provisions in this section), which improvements by the running of the lines subsequently thereto shall have fallen within any section, or half section other than the one purchased as aforesaid, and other than section number sixteen, such section or half section shall in that case be granted to the person or persons who shall have so entered, improved and cultivated the same, on payment of the purchase money agreeably to the provisions made by law for lands sold at private sale; but nothing herein contained shall be construed to give to any such person or persons a greater number of acres than he or they had contracted for, with John Cleves Symmes as aforesaid.
Persons having certificates of rights of pre-emption under contracts with or purchases from J. Cleves Symmes allowed further time for paying.Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That every person who may have heretofore obtained from the commissioners, a certificate of a right of pre-emption for lands lying between the two Miami rivers, on account of contracts with, or purchase from John Cleves Symmes or his associates, and who has paid his first instalment; and every person, who may obtain a similar certificate by virtue of the preceding section, and shall, on or before the first day of January, one thousand eight hundred and six, pay his first instalment, be permitted to pay the residue of the purchase money in six annual equal payments.
Fractional sections may be sold, united or singly. Public lands of the U. States may be sold in whole, half or quarter sections.Sec. 9. And be it further enacted, That fractional sections of the public lands of the United States, either north of the river Ohio, or south of the state of Tennessee, shall, under the directions of the Secretary of the Treasury, be either sold singly, or by uniting two or more together; ​any act to the contrary, notwithstanding: Provided, that no fractional sections shall be sold in that manner until after they shall have been offered for sale to the highest bidder, in the manner herein after directed.
Public lands of the U. States may be sold in whole, half or quarter sections.Sec. 10. And be it further enacted, That all the public lands of the United States, the sale of which is authorized by law, may, after they shall have been offered for sale to the highest bidder in quarter sections, as herein after directed, be purchased at the option of the purchaser, either in entire sections, in half sections, or in quarter sections; in which two last cases the sections shall be divided into half sections by lines running due north and south, and half the sections shall be divided into quarter sections by lines running due east and west. And in every instanceAll subdivisions to be at the expense of purchasers. in which a subdivision of the lands of the United States, as surveyed in conformity with law, shall be necessary to ascertain the boundaries or true contents of the tract purchased, the same shall be done at the expense of the purchaser.
Interest not payable for purchases of public land, if the principal be punctually paid. Act of May 18, 1796, ch. 29.Sec. 11. And be it further enacted, That no interest shall be charged on any instalment which may hereafter become due, in payment for any of the public lands of the United States, wherever situated, and which have been sold in pursuance of the act, intituled “An act to amend the act intituled An act providing for the sale of the lands of the United States, in the territory northwest of the Ohio, and above the mouth of Kentucky river,” or which may hereafter be sold by virtue of that, or of any other act of Congress: Provided, that such instalments shall be paid on the day on which the same shall become due; but the interest shall be charged and demanded in conformity with the provisions heretofore in force, from the date of the purchase on each instalment which shall not be paid on the day on which the same shall become due: Provided however, that on the instalments which are or may become due before the first day of October next, interest shall not be charged, except from the time they became due until paid, but in failure to pay the said instalments on the said first day of October, interest shall be charged thereon, in conformity with the provisions heretofore in force, from the date of the purchase.
Certain sections of lands and fractional sections and other public land north of the Ohio and above the mouth of Kentucky river, to be offered for sale. (Act of May 18, 1796, ch. 29.) Under whose direction. Times and places of sale. How long the sales to remain open. Terms of sales. Other public lands north of the Ohio, or south of Tennessee to be offered to the highest bidder, in quarter sections. Reservations in favour of a grant to John C. Symmes and others.Sec. 12. And be it further enacted, That the sections which have been heretofore reserved, and are by this act directed to be sold, also, the fractional sections, classed as is by the ninth section of this act directed, and all the other lands of the United States, north of the Ohio, and above the mouth of Kentucky river, shall be offered for sale in quarter sections, to the highest bidder, under the directions of the register of the land-office, and of the receiver of public monies, at the places, respectively, where the land-offices are kept, that is to say; the lands in the districts of Chilicothe, on the first Monday of May; the lands in the district of Marietta, on the second Monday of May; the lands in the district of Zanesville, on the third Monday of May; the lands in the district of Steubenville, on the second Monday of June; and the lands in the district of Cincinnati, on the first Monday of September. The sales shall remain open at each place no longer than three weeks; the lands which may be thus sold, shall not be sold for less than two dollars per acre, and shall, in every other respect be sold on the same terms and conditions, as is provided for the sale of lands sold at private sale. And all the other public lands of the United States, either north of the Ohio, or south of the state of Tennessee, which are directed to be sold at public sale, shall be offered for sale to the highest bidder, in quarter sections: Provided however, that section number twenty-six of the third township of the second fractional range, within the grant made by the United States to John Cleves Symmes, on which is erected a mill-dam, is hereby granted to Joseph Vanhorne, the proprietor of the said dam; and also, that section number twenty-nine of the second township of the fourth entire range, be granted to James Sutton; and also, that section number ​twenty-one of the ninth township of the twenty-first range, be granted to Christian Van Gundy, on their payment of the purchase money, agreeably to the provisions made by law, for lands sold at private sale.
Public lands, after having been surveyed, to be divided by the Secretary of the Treasury, into surveying districts. For each of which deputy surveyor, with the approbation of the Secretary of the Treasury, shall be appointed. Oath of office. His duties. The surveyor general to furnish the deputies with copies of the plats and fractional parts of townships in their districts. Fees of the deputies. Limitation of grant of a certificate.Sec. 13. And be it further enacted, That whenever any of the public lands shall have been surveyed in the manner directed by law, they shall be divided by the Secretary of the Treasury into convenient surveying districts, and a deputy director shall, with the approbation of the said secretary, be appointed by the surveyor-general for each district, who shall take an oath or affirmation truly and faithfully to perform the duties of his office; and whose duty it shall be to run and mark such lines as may be necessary for subdividing the lands surveyed as aforesaid, into sections, half sections or quarter sections, as the case may be; to ascertain the true contents of such subdivisions; and to record in a book to be kept for that purpose, the surveys thus made. The surveyor-general shall furnish each deputy surveyor with a copy of the plat of the townships and fractional parts of townships contained in his district, describing the subdivisions thereof, and the marks of the corners. Each deputy surveyor shall be entitled to receive from the purchaser of any tract of land, of which a line or lines shall have been run and marked by him, at the rate of three dollars for every mile thus surveyed and marked, before he shall deliver to him a copy of the plat of such tract, stating its contents. The fees payable by virtue of former laws for surveying expenses shall, after the first day of July next, be no longer demandable from, and paid by the purchasers. And no final certificate shall thereafter be given by the register of any land-office to the purchaser of any tract of land, all the lines of which shall not have been run, and the contents ascertained by the surveyor-general or his assistants, unless such purchaser shall lodge with the said register a plat of such tract, certified by the district surveyor.
Additional compensation to the registers and receivers of public monies of the several land-offices. Certain fees heretofore payable discontinued. Books of the officers of the land-offices to be annually examined, and the balance in their hands ascertained.Sec. 14. And be it further enacted, That from and after the first day of April next, each of the registers and receivers of public monies of the several land-offices established by law, either north of the river Ohio, or south of the state of Tennessee, shall, in addition to the commission heretofore allowed, receive one half per cent. on all monies paid for public lands sold in their respective offices, and an annual salary of five hundred dollars, the register and receiver of the land-office at Marietta excepted, the annual salary of whom shall be two hundred dollars. And from and after the same day the fees payable by virtue of former laws, to the registers of the several land-offices, for the entry of lands and for certificates of monies paid, shall no longer be demandable from nor paid by the purchasers of public lands. And it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury to cause, at least once every year, the books of the officers of the land-offices to be examined, and the balance of public monies in the hands of the several receivers of public monies of the said offices, to be ascertained.
Fees heretofore demandable for patents no longer payable. Registers of the land-offices to transmit the final certificates of purchasers to the register of the treasury,—postage to be paid by the purchasers.Sec. 15. And be it further enacted, That from and after the first day of April next, the fees heretofore payable for patents for lands, shall no longer be paid by the purchasers. And it shall be the duty of every register of a land-office on application of the party, to transmit, by mail, to the register of the treasury, the final certificate granted by such register to the purchaser of any tract of land sold at his office: and it shall be the duty of the register of the treasury, on receiving any such certificate, to obtain and transmit, by mail to the register of the proper land-office, the patent to which such purchaser is entitled; but, in every such instance, the party shall previously pay to the proper deputy postmaster, the postage accruing on the transmission of such certificate and patent.
Commissions to remain in force till the end of the next session of Congress.Sec. 16. And be it further enacted, That the President of the United States shall have full power to appoint and commission the several registers and receivers of public monies of the land-offices established by this ​act, in the recess of Congress; and their commissions shall continue in force until the end of the session of Congress next ensuing such appointment.
Per diem allowance to superintendents of sales.Sec. 17. And be it further enacted, That the several superintendents of the public sales directed by this act, shall receive six dollars each, for each day’s attendance on the said sales.
Sum appropriated to carry this act into effect.Sec. 18. And be it further enacted, That a sum not exceeding twenty thousand dollars be, and the same is hereby appropriated, for the purpose of carrying this act into effect; which sum shall be paid out of any unappropriated monies in the treasury.
Approved, March 26, 1804.
* ↑ See notes to act of March 23, 1804, chap. 33; an act granting lands to the inhabitants and settlers at Vincennes, and the Illinois country, &c., March 3, 1791, chap. 27, vol. i. 221.
* ↑ See act of May 18, 1796, chap. 29, vol. i. p. 464. Act of June 1, 1796, chap. 46, vol. i. p. 490.