Federal Land Records

When the United States acquired South Dakota, most of the land became part of the public domain. The federal government surveyed available land into townships and transferred it to private ownership through local land offices. The first land office was established at Vermillion in 1861. See the United States Research Outline for more information about the land entry process.

Land could be obtained through cash payment (cash entries), or by homesteading (after 1862). After a settler completed the requirements for land entry, his case file was sent to the General Land Office (GLO) in Washington, D.C., where a patent (first-title deed) was issued. The local land offices recorded transactions for each section of land in tract books. They also created township plats, which are maps of land entries for each township.

To locate the land-entry or homestead case file for your ancestor, you will need to know either the patent number or the legal description (range, township, section) of the land. The county recorder of deeds may be able to tell you the legal description of the land, or you may be able to pinpoint the exact location by searching the entries in the tract book covering the approximate area concerned.

The original patents and copies of the tract books and township plats are at:

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
222 North 32nd Street
Billings, MT 59101
Telephone: 406-255-2940
Fax: 406-255-2894