Federal Land

U.S. Land Acts

The following information can be found on page 27 of the booklet Ohio Lands published in 1994. Recent updates to the booklet may be found through the State Auditor's website.

Year	Price	Terms	Minimum Purcase
1785	$1.00 per acre	Specie, loan-office or debt certificates	640 acres
1795	$2.00 per acre	One half down, one half due in one year	640 acres
1800	$2.00 per acre	One quarter cash, remainder to be paid in three annual installments	320 acres
1804	$2.00 per acre	One quarter cash; remainder to be paid in three annual installments	160 acres
1820	$1.25 per acre	Cash	80 acres
1830	Land Scrip	Acceptable in lieu of cash
1832	$1.25 per acre	Cash, Land Scrip	40 acres
1841	$1.25 per acre	Squatters who built homes and imporved land could purchase one-quarter secton before it was offered for public sale	160 acres
1855	$1.00 per acre or 12 1/2 cents per acre	Land not sold for 10 years to be offered at $1.00 per acre; if not sold for 30 years, land could be disposed of at 12 1/2 cents per acre	40-320 acres
1862	$10 filing fee	Title could be obtained after 5 years residence under Homestead Act	40-320 acres
1800-1862		Initial sale by public auction

Federal Land Offices in Ohio

• Marietta: 1800-1840
• Steubenville: 1800-1840
• Cincinnati: 1801-1840
• Chillicothe: 1801-1876
• Zanesville: 1804-1840
• Canton: 1808-1816
• Wooster: 1816-1849
• Delaware: 1820-1828
• Piqua: 1820-1833
• Tiffin: 1828-1932
• Bucyrus: 1832-1842
• Wapakoneta: 1833-1835
• Lima: 1835-1843
• Marion: 1837-1845
• Upper Sandusky: 1843-1848
• Defiance: 1848-1855