Board of Trustees of the Sevilleta Grant.

The Sevilleta Land Grant was a community land grant located in northern Socorro County. It was granted on the 29th of May 1819 by the governor of the province of New Mexico, Governor Melgares. On December 4, 1893 the U.S. Court of Private Land Claims ruled the Grant as a valid claim. The grant was confirmed, plat and survey approved by the Court on December 12, 1901 totaling about 272,000 acres. The unallotted portion of the grant was 216,000 acres, which remained in communal lands. After New Mexico became a state, county taxes were leveled against the Grant. By 1920 the tax delinquency amounted to $23,000. At a public sale on August 14, 1928, the land was sold to the County. In 1934 the County sold the land to the highest bidder Thomas Campbell, who bought it for $76,750. He acquired about 216,000 acres of the grant. Descendants of the original grantees retained land adjacent to the river. In 1973 the Nature Conservancy bought the 216,000 acres from the Campbell Family Foundation. The Conservancy deeded it to the U.S. Government as a wildlife refuge. Today it is known as the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge and has been declared a Long-term Ecological Research Site by the National Science Foundation and United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

From the description of Records, 1887-1939 (bulk 1910-1939). (University of New Mexico-Main Campus). WorldCat record id: 50499872

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