43 U.S.C. § 329 — Issue of patent on final proof; citizenship requirement as to patentee; limit as to amount of holding

submitted 149 years ago by ch. 107 to r/title-43-PUBLIC-LANDS · 233 words · no verdicts yet

in plain englishAI-generated · not legal advice

Within four years of filing, a citizen who proves reclamation gets a patent. They must also pay $1 more per acre for the land. No one can hold more than 320 acres this way before the patent issues.

At any point after filing the declaration, and within four years after that, an applicant can get a patent (final ownership) for the desert land. To get it, the applicant must: - give the officer the Secretary of the Interior designates satisfactory proof that they reclaimed and cultivated the land to the extent, cost, and method already described, and that it substantially matches the required plan; - prove they are a U.S. citizen; and - pay that officer an extra $1 per acre for the land. Once all that is done, the patent is issued to the applicant or to whoever the applicant has assigned their claim to. No person or group can hold, by assignment or otherwise, more than 320 acres of this kind of arid or desert land before the patent is issued — though this limit doesn't apply to entries made or started before March 3, 1891. The government can require more proof at any time within the legal deadline. Claims or entries made under sections 321 to 323, 325, and 327 to 329 can also be challenged ("contested") the same way homestead claims can — for reasons like an illegal start, abandonment, or failing to follow legal requirements. If a challenge succeeds with satisfactory proof, the claim is canceled, and both the land and any money paid for it go back to the United States.

the actual law source: uscode.house.gov ↗public domain

At any time after filing the declaration, and within the period of four years thereafter, upon making satisfactory proof to the officer designated by the Secretary of the Interior of the reclamation and cultivation of said land to the extent and cost and in the manner aforesaid, and substantially in accordance with the plans herein provided for, and that he or she is a citizen of the United States, and upon payment to such officer of the additional sum of $1 per acre for said land, a patent shall issue therefor to the applicant or his assigns; but no person or association of persons shall hold by assignment or otherwise prior to the issue of patent, more than three hundred and twenty acres of such arid or desert lands, but this section shall not apply to entries made or initiated prior to March 3, 1891: Provided, however, That additional proofs may be required at any time within the period prescribed by law, and that the claims or entries made under sections 321 to 323, 325, and 327 to 329 of this title shall be subject to contest, as provided by the law, relating to homestead cases, for illegal inception, abandonment, or failure to comply with the requirements of law, and upon satisfactory proof thereof shall be canceled, and the lands, and moneys paid therefor, shall be forfeited to the United States.

Source credit: (Mar. 3, 1877, ch. 107, § 7, as added Mar. 3, 1891, ch. 561, § 2, 26 Stat. 1097; amended Oct. 28, 1921, ch. 114, § 1, 42 Stat. 208; Mar. 3, 1925, ch. 462, 43 Stat. 1145; 1946 Reorg. Plan No. 3, § 403, eff. July 16, 1946, 11 F.R. 7876, 60 Stat. 1100.)

history & why it existsrecord from the source credit

1877Enacted · Act of Mar. 3, 1877, ch. 107 · 26 Stat. 1097
1921Amended · Act of Oct. 28, 1921, ch. 114 · 42 Stat. 208
1925Amended · Act of Mar. 3, 1925, ch. 462 · 43 Stat. 1145

A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by ch. 107 on 1877-03-03.

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