Land Sales in
Illinois

Information to assist genealogists and historians in studies of land ownership in Illinois

• Map of Meridians and Baselines in Illinois
• Legal Land Descriptions in Federal Township and Range System will help you understand the land descriptions available from:
  • Illinois Public Land Sales
    Searchable Index
    
• Erich Schroeder's Analysis of Public Domain Lands in Illinois graphically defines the early areas of settlement and special land sales. Quote from Erich's Info:

  By relating the legal location recorded in the land office documents with information digitized from modern topographic maps it is possible to produce various maps reflecting, for example, earliest or last date of entry per section, or average date per section.