Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1901-06-04
LANDS OPEN FOR[N|RY
Eight Hundred Acres Of Iowa
Land Opened for Home
stead Entry.
Located in Clay County Along
the Line of the Milwaukee
Railway.
First Filings Will Get an Iowa
Farm at $3.50 Per
Acre.

Des Moines, June 4.-Over 800 acres OF
valuable Iowa farm lands will be thrown
open to homestead entry at the Des
Moines land office in the federal building
at o'clock this morning and indications
are there will be a large number of peo-
This land Is part of a tract of 1.4SS.5S
acres located in Clay county along the
line Of the Chicago, Milwaukee 6 st.
Paul road and between the towns of
Ruthven and Spencer 1t is opened be-
cause of the discovery of errors on the
Tart of the government engineers Who
made the original surveys including it
in the meandered boundaries of Lost
Island, Round and Trumbull lakes.
For twenty years there has been more
or less question as to the title of this
property and so far as is known no one
has undertaken to guarantee title from
one person to another. Several persons
have moved in on the property by some
color of title passed to them, have inn
proved 1T and made their homes on it,
but much of it has not been occupied.
For some time past movement has
been on foot to secure survey OF the
land and It's opening tor regular home
stead entry that the titles might be con-
firmed and the land developed. This
has resulted In a survey but recently
completed. This survey showed that In
the original government survey LASS
acres We're described as forming por-
ton of the lake beds which, so far as
any one knows. We're never covered by
water OF this amount 600 acres is
swamp land and will go to the state un-
der the swamp grants and by 1t will be
patented to Clay county. The rest OF
1.-The land is described as high and dry
and about the pest farming ground IN
| Clay county. How 1t should nave beer
| described as portion of the lake beds
IN the first survey and SO considered CT
| ficialiy for u number OF years no ONT
| knows
This morning the land office will bt
| thrown open for entry upon this land al
9 o'clock and those who make a first I'll
ing stand a pretty good chance of get.
| ting an Iowa farm at the homestead
| rate of $3.50 per acre.
| Where persons can prove that they
have been on the land in good faith
| have resided there continuously for {
| number of years and have made I'M
1 provements of permanent character, i
is altogether likely they will be givel
1 the preference over persons entering to
j day by tn land office court. 1t has bee
] the rule of the department of the int
i rior In the O'Brien county cases an,
! similar cases to give the preference I,
the bona iele settler claimant. But 1t ST
i happens in this case that much of tn
! land has never peen occupied by claim
/ ants of this class. The shadow of till,
that could be given has been held in {
4 large number of cases by spectators q
by persons who have not resided on tn
1 lands. so that there is little prospec
they will be able to retain their claim /,
/ the land. Up to the time the land offic
/ closed yesterday afternoon but thre
4 persons who claim to have settled on tn
Hands in good faith and to have mad
improvements have appeared to secur
data to be used in making entries.
/ Those who desire to enter the land
4 will be served in the order in which the
& come. A line will be formed leadin
from the door of the office of the registe
and receiver of the land Office, and ono
in line q person VIII nave to RENAL
there to retain his place. II he steps Oh
! he will have to go 10 the foot of the line
while no person will be permitted t
take up a place except at what is tn
rear Of the line when he steps in. Ea.
Iperson will have to give The description
s of the quarter ne desires to enter o
fraction thereof, and to make a tends
i Of the entry money and fees. No per
son will be permitted to enter lands tina
Rave been described as swamp lands ex
lcept the settler claimants, and thes
will be confined to the property the
have actually claimed. 1t is not likel
:. tho that these viii enter the swan
lands. those who called al the land offie
yesterday saying that they did not car
:. to include the swamp in the description
/, they will file on.