Series 83751

IRON COUNTY (UTAH).COUNTY RECORDER [537 ]

LAND PATENTS, 1905-1964.
2 microfilm reels

A separate agency history is available.

DESCRIPTION: A patent is a deed transferring land from the federal or state government to an individual. During the nineteenth century federal policy supported transferring land in the public domain into private ownership. Individuals could purchase this land outright or they could obtain it in exchange for some kind of labor or development under such programs as the Homestead Act, the Timber Culture Act or the Desert Lands Act. Federal mining laws were also set up to encourage the development of mineral resources by offering ownership to individuals who discovered and developed the same. Additionally, the federal government granted many acres of land to the state of Utah, some of which the state in turn sold to individuals.

The patents in these books are primarily for land, but also include mining rights. Information in the documents includes the names of grantee and grantor (grantor being a government), a legal description of the land, and application and certificate numbers. Each patent explains the laws and requirements which had been fulfilled in order to obtain the land or mining claim, and that a certificate for the same had been filed in the Salt Lake Land Office. Where water rights were involved, they were specified. The President of the United States signed federal patents and the governor signed state patents.

ARRANGEMENT: Patents in the Iron County patent books are arranged in the order in which they were filed by the county recorder. The first book is divided into separate sections for federal and state patents. While federal or state patents dominate in each section, patents are acutally mixed throughout.

RELATED RECORDS: Patents in these books are referenced by location in ABSTRACTS, series 83764. They are referenced by name of owner in GRANTOR AND GRANTEE INDEXES, series 6100. Patents for mining claims are also referenced in MINING DEEDS INDEX, series 23953. Additional mineral certificates and mining patents were recorded in MINING DEEDS, series 23951.

FINDING AIDS: Iron County patents are referenced by abstracts, and by grantor and grantee indexes. Mining patents are referenced in the mining deeds index. See related records.

PROCESSING NOTE: Iron County land patent books were microfilmed by Utah State Archives in June 1974 and processed by Rosemary Cundiff in November 2001.

PREFERRED CITATION: Cite the Utah State Archives and Records Service, the creating agency name, the series title, and the series number.

CONTAINER LIST

Reel	Description
1	Jan 1906-Jan 1913 (Patent Record A, federal patents section)
1	Mar 1905-Jun 1915 (Patent Record A, state patents section)
1	Aug 1915-Aug 1920 (Patent Record B)
2	Apr 1921-Jul 1934 (Patent Record C)
2	Aug 1934-Dec 1964 (Patent Record D)