THE IMPACT OF THE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE ACT ON LAND ALIENATION IN CALIFORNIA∗

∗I want to extend appreciation to Rose M. Sauder for assistance in collecting and processing original tract book data and to thank Peter D. Brown for his cartographic assistance. I am also grateful to David Hornbeck, John Rice, and Michael Conzen for their helpful comments on an earlier draft of this paper.

Abstract

The Agricultural College Act of 1862 provided land grants to states for the establishment of A & M colleges. It is widely held that this measure was primarily used by speculators to acquire vast tracts of public domain lands. An examination of the influence of the Act on land alienation in California only partially supports this notion. Regional variations in the pattern of land entries over time reflect changes in the provisions of the original land act allowing thousands of small holders also to make use of this land measure.

Key Words:

• public domain
• land alienation
• land scrip
• speculators
• preemptors

Notes

∗I want to extend appreciation to Rose M. Sauder for assistance in collecting and processing original tract book data and to thank Peter D. Brown for his cartographic assistance. I am also grateful to David Hornbeck, John Rice, and Michael Conzen for their helpful comments on an earlier draft of this paper.