Sometimes the reasons are given, and sometimes are unknown. Condemned Land . This is land taken by a governmental body for a public purpose, such as a road or reservoir. Sometimes individuals or private firms could hold condemned property. In the colonial period, if an agreement could not be reached with the landowner, an individual could condemn that person's land to construct a mill.
Railroads can condemn land for tracks, if a landowner refuses to grant an easement.
Conditions of Plantation . These were the rules which governed how land was granted in Maryland in the colonial period. Before the first settlers landed in 1634, Lord Baltimore had set up his Conditions of Plantation, which he changed from time to time. The land was held by Lord Baltimore in fief, a type of tenure somewhat resembling an assignable lease in perpetuity. Settlers could sell their land and pass it on by inheritance, but paid yearly quit rents to Lord Baltimore and under certain circumstances, at his discretion, he could and did revoke grants.