District of Columbia Land and PropertyEdit This Page

From FamilySearch Wiki

United States    U.S. Land and Property    District of Columbia    Land and Property

The District of Columbia was created in 1790 from Maryland and Virginia. Land records for the District of Columbia, 1792 to 1886, are on 694 microfilms, FHL Collection, starting with film 895251 for the index and film 899401 for the records. The documents include deeds of transfer of title, bills of sale, mortgages, and manumissions. There is a grantor/grantee index for 1792 to 1919. The original records and indexes are located in the office of the Recorder of Deeds, 1101 4th Street, SW, 5th Floor, Washington, DC 20024, Telephone: 202-727-5374.

When Maryland and Virginia ceeded portions of their land to create the District of Columbia, they kept original records for that early time period in their respective counties.  Deed books for Alexandria County, Virginia, (now Arlington County) are at the Alexandria City courthouse. FHL Collection, deeds (1783-1865) start with film 30170; index (1793-1870), films 30168-69. The Family History Library also has the Maryland Circuit Court deeds for Prince George's County (FHL Collection,  index (1696-1884) films 14277& 14278, deeds start with film 14247) and Montgomery County (FHL Collection, index (1773-1863) film 14207; deeds start with film 14208).

A list of the earliest settlers is in Bessie Wilmarth Gahn, Original Patentees of Land at Washington Prior to 1700 (1936 reprint; Baltimore: Genealogical Publ., 1969) FHL Collection, book 975.3 R21g; located also at these libraries.

An early map (1795) identifying lot numbers in Washington, D.C. is available online.

Additional Resources

• M1116, District of Columbia Building Permits, 1877-1949, and Index, 1877-1958. - Available via the National Archives.  Read a blog post from NARA on how to use them. 

Websites

• District of Columbia Land Records and Deeds Directory
• Historic maps of District of Columbia

Links to District of Columbia-related articles v • d • e District of Columbia Topics Introduction · African Americans · Archives and Libraries · Bible Records · Biography · Cemeteries · Census · Church Records · Court Records · Directories · Emigration and Immigration · Gazetteers · Genealogy · History · Land and Property · Maps · Military Records · Naturalization and Citizenship · Newspapers and Obituaries · Online Records · Periodicals · Probate Records · Societies · Taxation · Vital Records · For Further Reading v • d • e District of Columbia Anacostia · Georgetown · Washington, D.C. v • d • e District of Columbia Major Repositories Library of Congress · Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Library · National Archives and Records Administration · New York Public Library v • d • e District of Columbia Migration Routes Chesapeake and Ohio Canal · Cumberland Road · Fall Line Road (or Southern Road) · King's Highway · National Road · Potomac River

v • d • e Links to U.S. Land and Property-related articles Topics Beginning Research • Indexing Systems • Inheriting Land • Land Grant Process • Land Measurements • Land Patent Search • Land Terms and; Definitions • Locating Federal Land on Maps • Maps • Metes and Bounds • Platting Land • Federal Land States • State Land States Acquiring Land Deeds • Grants to States • Headrights • Homestead • Land Companies and Railroads • Lottery Land • Military Bounty Land • Mining Claims • Private Land Claims • Timberland Land and Property Pages Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • District of Columbia • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming American Indians • African Americans

• This page was last modified on 18 April 2012, at 19:57.
• This page has been accessed 1,316 times.