United States. Surveyor General

Federal land surveys in Illinois were authorized by Congressional act (March 26, 1804), when the U. S. Surveyor General was given jurisdiction over all public land north of the Ohio and east of the Mississippi Rivers. Surveys began in the western Vincennes Tract (1804) and southern Illinois (1806), then proceeded northward; covering all but most northern Illinois by 1831. When the Illinois surveys began, the Surveyor General was an independent officer under the President's direct supervision but a Congressional act (July 4, 1836) placed the office was under the U. S. General Land Office. Congress authorized funds to complete surveys in various districts (June 12, 1840) with the requirement that each district's Surveyor General deliver all survey records (i.e., field notes; maps) to the appropriate state, provided the state met Congressional guidelines (Jan. 22, 1853) for document safekeeping.

The Illinois surveys were completed in 1855, and survey records were to be deposited with the Auditor of Public Accounts but the General Assembly did not enact the legislation required by Congress until 1861. Record custody was transferred to the Secretary of State (1861-1865); then to the Governor (1865-1883) where they were maintained by the Custodian of the U. S. Surveys for the State of Illinois; the Auditor of Public Accounts (1883-1957), who also had custody of the U.S. General Land Office records for Illinois; and finally back to the Secretary of State for deposit at the Illinois State Archives (1957- ). Field notes and plats for federal surveys on previously unsurveyed Illinois land (1855-1970) were forwarded to the designated state custodian upon survey completion.

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