Selected county assessment records. Records are available from only a few counties. Land survey maps, 1870-1905. Promotional pamphlets produced by various land companies, speculators and the railroads. Photographs, including early bird's-eye views of certain cities.
All collections are available for research use.
Please contact the Museum Division staff for information concerning museum artifacts. Although there were areas of European-American settlement prior to the advent of the railroad, most occurred after the Northern Pacific Railroad crossed the Red River in 1871. While the Homestead Act made it possible for settlers to obtain free land, approximately one-fourth of the state was granted to the railroad for building through the territory. Other land was eventually granted to the state for public purposes. Therefore, settlers might have obtained land through homesteading or purchase.