Chapter F. Land, Forestry, and Fisheries (Series F 1-219) Public Lands of the United States: Series F 1-24 gift, tracts of land needed for various public purposes, such as sites for public buildings, defense installations, and· natural-resource ACQUISITION (F 1-7) conservation activities. Such lands are often referred to as acquired . F 1-1. Acquisition and extent of territory and public domain, lands, to distinguish them from public-domain lands. Complete 1181-1945. SOURCE: See detailed listing below. statistics are not available as to the extent of such acquisitions. t/j F 1-3. Acquisition of the territory of the United States, 1783- F 7. Estimated area of the public domain, 1802-1946. SOURCE: 1945. SOURCE: Areas of Acquisitions to the Territory of the United Bureau of Land Management, Department of the Interior. Data States . .. J Department of Interior, Office of the Secretary, Wash­ are estimates based on imperfect data for the years indicated. For ington, Government Printing Office, 1922. All areas are given as definition of public domain, see text for series F 4-6. computed in 1912 by a Federal Government committee repre­ senting the General Land Office and the Geological Survey (De­ PUBLIC LANDS AND THE NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM (F 8-24) partment of the Interior) and the Bureau of Statistics and the Bureau of the Census (then in the Department of Commerce and F 8-16, F 19-24. General note. These series on disposal of public Labor).· Figures shown here have not been adjusted for the new hinds, 1800-1945, were provided by the Bureau of Land Manage­ area measurements for the United States which were made for the ment, Department of the Interior, except as otherwise noted. For 1940 Decennial Census. For the revised figures in square miles, definition of public-domain lands and acquired lands,see text for see series B 26-28. The new measurements resulted in a decrease series F 4-6. The laws which govern the management, use, and sale of 4,402 square miles in the gross area (land and water combined), or other disposal of public-domain lands are known as the public. and in an increase of 3,352 square miles in the land area. (See Bu­ land law8. The earlier concept with respect to the public domain reau of the Census, Sixteenth Census Reports, Areas of the United was to pass the public lands into private ownership as rapidly as States, 1940, 1942, p. 3.) possible. Initially to raise revenue and later to hasten the settle~ Recognition of its sovereignty over its present continental land­ ment and development of the country, the Congress passed thou~ area of 2,977,128 square miles, or about 1,905 million acres (as sands of laws providing for the disposal of the original public recomputed for the 1940 Decennial Census), was acquired by the domain to States and their subdivisions and to private owners. United States Government .through a series of international agree­ Under these laws, approximately 285 million acres have been ments and treaties. The United States, however, did not gain title patented to homesteaders, 225 million acres have been granted to to all of these lands by such agreements. At the time of acquisition States for various public purposes and 90 million acres to railroad of sovereignty over the areas involved, title to about 463 million corporations to aid in financing the construction of railroads, and acres rested in individual States and their political subdivisions or about 430 million acres have been sold or otherwise disposed of. in private owners, which title was not relinquished to the United Disposals have reduced the original public domain to its present States. Title to the remaining 1,442 million acres passed to the area of about 413 million acres (see seriesF 7). Special laws provide United States Government during the period from 1781 to 1853. for the disposal of surplus acquired lands, as, for example, the Sur­ F 4-6. Acquisition of the original public domain, 1781-1945. plus Property Act of 1944. SOURCE: Same as series F 1-3, above. For area by States, see De­ F 8. Vacant public lands, 1904~1945. SOURCE: Annual Report partment of the Interior, "Statistical Appendix" (p. 4) of the of the Commissioner of the General Land Office, 1904-1945. The Annual Report of the Commissioner of the General Land Office, 1946. data were compiled by the Bureau of Land Management, Depart­ By acts of cession during the period from. 1781 to 1802 seven of ment of the Interior, and are to be considered as estimates. These the Original Thirteen States relinquished to the United States data do not include public lands i!l Alaska. Government for the common good their claims to the "western The vacant public lands of the United States are public-domain lands;" roughly the area north of the Ohio River and east of the lands (see text for series F 4-6) which are not reserved for any Mississippi River and the area embraced by the present States of purpose other than for reclassification and which are not covered Alabama and Mississippi. The State of Maryland ceded the present by any non-Federal right or claim other than permits, leases, area of the District of Columbia in 1788. In 1850 the State of Texas rights-oi-way, 9r unreported mining claims. They are subject to sold its lands outside its present boundaries to the United States. acquisition by applicants under appropriate laws, such as the laws Title to the remaining area west of the Mississippi River (except governing homesteads or grants to States. It is upon these laws the State of Texas) and to Florida passed to the United States for the most part that entries and selections (see text for series F Government as sovereign at the time of their addition to the 11-13) are made. The Bureau of Land Management, Department Nation during the period from 1803 to 1853. For detailed infor­ of the Interior, administers the public-land laws relating to such mation, see Douglas, E. M., Boundaries, "Areas, Geographic Ceniers entries and selections, a function transferred to it from the Gen~ and Altitudes of the United States and the Several States . •. Depart­ era! Land Office as a part of Reorganization Plan No. a of 1946. ment of the Interior, Geological Survey Bulletin 817, 1939 edition, F 9. Cash receipts of the General Land Office from the disposal and Hibbard, B. H., A History of the Public Land Policies, Mac­ of public and ceded Indian lands and resources, 1881-1945. Millan Co., N. Y. 1924. SOURCE: Annual Report of the Commissioner of the General Land With the exception of lands in the District of Columbia, _the Office, 1946, "Statistical Appendix," pp. 120-121. Figures are for total of 1,442 million acres of land area (see series F 5), title to fiscal years. These data represent the total receipts of the General which became vested in the Government, is known as the original Land Office covered into the Treasury during the period from 1881 public domain. Any of su.ch lands which the Government has not through 1945 and include the relatively small receipts from land disposed of under the public-land laws, are generally referred to and resources in Alaska. They do not include the receipts which as public-domain lands. other Government agencies realized from their operations on Fed­ In addition to the public domain, the United States Government erallands, although they do' include some receipts from lands under has from time to time acquired by purchase, condemnation, and the administration of such agencies. For example, mineral leases 113 Text: F 9-24 LAND, FORESTRY, AND FISHERIES for public-domain lands within national forests were issued by the I quire analysis of supporting records. Data include disposals of General Land Office, which also collected the mineral rentals, lands in Alaska. royalties, and bonuses from such lands. Also, during the fiscal F 14-16. Homestead entries, except on ceded Indian lands, years 1935 through part of 1940 the General Land Office collected 1863-1945. SOURCE: Series F 14: For 1884-1945, see Department grazing fees for lands within grazing districts and during the fiscal of the Interior, Annual Report of the Commissioner of the General years of 1908 through the first half of 1913 collected water-right Land Office, 1884-1946; for 1863-1883, see Donaldson, Thomas, charges in connection with the Bureau of Reclamation irrigation The Public Domain, Government Printing Office, Washington, projects. Other examples of multiple jurisdiction exist. D. C., 1884, pp. 351-355. Series F 15: Annual volumes, Statistical For receipts from sales of public lands as reported by the Treas­ Abstract of the United States, 1889-1946. Series F 16: For 1868- ury Department, see chapter P, series P 94. The data representing 1928, see Statistical Abstract, 1929, p.130; for 1929-1945, see Statis­ receipts from sales of public lands which are included within series tical Abstract, 1946, p. 162. For definitions of the terms' original F 9, however, are not identical to those shown for series P 94, since entries and final entries, see text for series F 11-13. the General Land Office reports of receipts from sales did not cover The data on the number of originai homestead entries do not the same period as the Treasury reports. include the number of applications which were accepted for lands FlO. Area of land granted by the United States to the several that had been ceded by the Indians to the United States with the States for pub lie purposes, 1802-1938.