The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1895-11-07
PUBLIC DOMAIN
Some Things the Report Of the
General Land Commissioner
Will Show.
Approximately Seven Million
Acres Have Been Disposed of
in a Year. >
Special Effort to Settle Up
Swamp Land Grants En-
tries Increased.


office for 1896 will show some interest
ing facts in connection with the dispo
sition of public lands in the Northwest
Respecting the quantity Of vacant lands
still remaining in the country the re-
port will show that there are but $780,
OS3, 495 acres, of which 313, S37 1888 acres
are surveyed. According to the report
for 1894 there were COG, 040,3 1913 acres Of
vacant public land in the country
showing that approximately 1000, OO(
acres of public lands have been disposed
Of during the past year. During that
period there were disposed of in Mime
sofa about 500, 900 acres, in Wisconsin
$4,000 acres, in North Dakota 4OO, 900,
in South Dakota nearly 100000, and
in Montana 4OO, ZOO.
Some Lands Still Unclaimed.
The,e remain in these PUBLIC land
states vacant public land as follows:
In Minnesota, surveyed lands, 1851 ,671
acres; unsurveyed, 2,121,S73; in Wis
consin, Sos, 40 acres, all surveyed; in
North Dakota, 12,2O6, 266 surveyed, and
lO,l72 400 unsurveyed; South Dakota,
HOP. 543 acres surveyed, and 2,619, 1928
unsurveyed; in Montana, 1926, 204
acres surveyed. and 81 ,080,S97 acres un-
surveyed.
These statements of the vacant public
lands in these states is exclusive Of mil
itary and Indian reservations. water
reservoir sites and tracts covering Sc
lecticns already made, railroad grants
and claims remaining unadjudicated,
part of which may in the future be re-
stored to the public domain.
The commissioner says that during
the year there were certified and pat
ented under the several grants to aid in
the construction Of railroads in the
country about 100000 acres of land,
and there remain unpatented railroad
selections in these grants to the. amount
of 20, 623, 900 acres.
Some Swamp Lands Patented.
A special effort to adjust swamp land
claims has resulted in the final settle
ment to the amount of 1883, 152 acres.
There have been patented to the sew
eral public land states since the ori gin
of the grant appertaining to swamp
lands about 58,0O0,00O acres Of swamp
and overfowed lands. Of this amount
3, 159, 211 acres have been patented to
Minnesota and 3,347. 1868 acres to Wis
consin. During the past year there
have been sele ,ted for Minnesota
swamp lands to the amount of 118, $50
acres there have been approved Isl, 061
acres and patents issued for ia, S03
acres.
More Land Entries Than in 1894.
During the year there were located
military bounty land warrants in the
various public land states covering H.
$50 acres, of which amount nearly one
half or 4, 100 acres were located in Min
nesota, 200 acres in North Dakota and
800 acres III South Dakota. The tabu,a-
tons of the transactions at the various
land offices in the public land states, for
incorporation in the commissioners re-
port, are not yet available, but the totals
of homestead entries for the country
show an aggregate of 2O,O22 entries,
covering 1880, 500 acres, which is an in
crease in the number Of entries over
1894 of 375, or 5O,861 more acres ell
tered under the homestead laws during
the past year than were entered in 1894.