Records of the Bureau of Land Management [BLM] 
(Record Group 49) 1685-1989 (bulk 1770-1982) 59,666 cu. ft.
gopher://gopher.nara.gov:70/00/inform/guide/10s/rg049.txt

49.1 ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY

Established: In the Department of the Interior by Secretary's Order 2225, July
15, 1946, implementing Reorganization Plan No. III of 1946, effective July 16,
1946.

Predecessor Agencies:

In the Department of the Treasury:
Office of the Secretary of the Treasury (1789-1812) 
Register of the Treasury (1789-1812) 
General Land Office (1812-49)

In the Department of State:
Office of the Secretary of State (administration of land patents, 1796-1812)

In the War Department:
Office of the Secretary of War (military land warrants, 1789-1812) 
Ordnance Department (supervision of lead and copper mines, 1821-46)

In the Department of the Interior:
General Land Office (1849-1946)
Division of Grazing Control (1934-35) 
Division of Grazing (1935-39) 
Grazing Service (1939-46)

Functions: Classifies, manages, and disposes of public lands and their resources
according to principles of multiple-use management. Administers federally owned
mineral resources on nonfederal lands.

Finding Aids: Preliminary inventory in National Archives microfiche edition of
preliminary inventories.

Related Records: Record copies of publications of the Bureau of Land Management
and its predecessors in RG 287, Publications of the U.S. Government. 
Records of the Office of the Secretary of the Interior, RG 48.
Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, RG 75.
Records of the National Park Service, RG 79.
Records of the Forest Service, RG 95.
Records of the Bureau of Reclamation, RG 115.

                           RECORDS
RECORD TYPES           RECORD LOCATIONS           QUANTITIES
Textual Records        Washington Area         45,495 cu. ft.
                       Anchorage                  639 cu. ft.
                       Atlanta                     15 cu. ft.
                       Chicago                     38 cu. ft.
                       Denver                   5,417 cu. ft.
                       Fort Worth                  37 cu. ft.
                       Kansas City                152 cu. ft.
                       Los Angeles              1,895 cu. ft.
                       San Francisco            1,949 cu. ft.
                       Santa Fe                    70 cu. ft.
                       Seattle                  3,013 cu. ft.
Maps and Charts        College Park           123,883 items
                       Anchorage                3,922 items
                       Denver                  88,248 items
                       Kansas City                  7 items
                       Los Angeles              3,818 items
                       San Francisco           38,867 items
Aerial Photographs     College Park               700 items
                       Los Angeles                 76 items
                       San Francisco                5 items
Still Pictures         College Park            14,302 images

49.2 GENERAL RECORDS OF THE GENERAL LAND OFFICE AND THE BUREAU OF LAND
MANAGEMENT 1796-1969 6,562 lin. ft.

History: The Federal Government inherited a substantial public domain from its
predecessor, the government under the Articles of Confederation. By Article IV,
Section 3, Clause 2 of the Constitution, Congress was empowered "to dispose of
and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other
Property belonging to the United States." In the act establishing the Treasury
Department (1 Stat. 65), September 2, 1789, the Secretary of the Treasury was
authorized "to execute such services relative to the sale of the lands belonging
to the United States, as may be by law required of him," and the Office of the
Register of the Treasury was designated the agency for the collection and
dispersal of Treasury revenues. The Secretary of War, in the act establishing
the War Department (1 Stat. 50), August 7, 1789, was made responsible for
granting military bounty lands (lands to which veterans of the Revolutionary War
were entitled by virtue of their military service). Treasury responsibility for
administering the public lands was defined initially in the Land Act of 1796 (1
Stat. 464), May 18, 1796, which provided for the orderly survey and sale of
lands northwest of the Ohio River. This responsibility was extended
geographically and amended procedurally by additional land laws of 1800, 1803,
and 1804. The act of 1796 required the Secretary of State to record and issue
patents (titles) to public land. The General Land Office Act (2 Stat. 716),
April 25, 1812, created the General Land Office (GLO) in the Department of the
Treasury to "superintend, execute, and perform, all such acts and things,
touching or respecting the public lands of the United States," including those
functions formerly vested in the Secretaries of War and State. GLO transferred
to the newly created Department of the Interior under provisions of its
establishing act (9 Stat. 395), March 3, 1849. GLO and Grazing Service (SEE
49.6) consolidated to form BLM, 1946. SEE 49.1.

49.2.1 Correspondence

Textual Records: General correspondence, 1796-1909. Letters received, 1803-1965,
with registers and indexes, including separately filed letters from registers
and receivers, 1803-49; and from surveyors general, 1803-71.  Letters sent,
1908-48. Telegrams sent, 1909-40.

Microfilm Publications: M25, M27.

49.2.2 Records relating to lands administration

Textual Records: Records relating to power-site reserves, 1909- 61;
classifications, 1921-64; restorations, 1909-60; and cancellations, 1918-52.
Records relating to power projects, 1920- 67. Records relating to withdrawals of
air navigation sites, 1928-59, and stock driveways, 1916-59. Miscellaneous
records relating to restorations and reserves of public water, Alaska shore
space, reservoirs, and water wells, 1911-64. Mineral land survey approval files,
1874-1964.

49.2.3 Other records

Textual Records: Railroad mortgages, 1886-1938. Register of mining entries,
1875-1907. Federal reimbursements for tax revenues lost by counties in Oregon
and California when railroad land grant titles were revested in the United
States, 1916-31. Valuation of Indian lands acquired by the United States, 1864-
1908. Records of the Board of Commissioners for the Hot Springs, AR,
Reservation, 1877-79. Correspondence concerning Alabama selections under the May
23, 1928, Muscle Shoals Grant, 1915-28. Records relating to the Kaweah
Cooperative Colony of California, 1934-35. Annual grazing statistical reports,
1938-69.

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