BLM Resources about Homesteading in Oregon

1. The Gerber Block report: July 2000 report submitted to BLM: "The Gerber Block: Historical Developments on the Public Rangeland in Klamath County, Oregon," by Stephen Dow Beckham, Lake Oswego, Oregon, July 2000 (142 pp. included bibliography) -- has information on opening the area to homesteaders via the Applegate Trail and Oregon Trail.
   
2. Upper Klamath River -- The "Overview of the Klamath River Canyon, Cultural Resource Series Number 13," by Steven Dow Beckham, Lake Oswego, Oregon, 2006 -- discusses the homesteading of the upper Klamath River Canyon in-depth.
3. National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center. Homesteading is also featured at the center since many of those who traveled west on the Oregon Trail homesteaded.
   http://www.blm.gov/or/oregontrail/index.php
4. Roseburg District 2008 report: "Early Days on the Umpqua: Investigations at the Martha and Croesus Comstock Homestead." This is a report from work on a homestead during a 2007 PIT project with archaeological contractor, Cascade Research. Note: While this is not a homestead patented under the 1862 Homestead Act, it is an example of a similar claim awarded under the earlier "Donation Land Claim Act" (1850) that Congress enacted before the Homestead Act in order to populate the Oregon Territory.
5. The Official Federal Land Records Site: This site provides live access to Federal land conveyance records for the Public Land States, including image access to more than five million Federal land title records issued between 1820 and the present. There are also have images related to survey plats and field notes, dating back to 1810.
   http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/
6. Oregon Federal Land Records: Oregon/Washington BLM maintains the official Land Status and Cadastral Survey records since the early days of the Government Land Office (GLO). These records are comprised of the Master Title Plats, Historical Index pages, Cadastral Plats and Survey Notes (organized by state, township and range). In addition, this site provides an on-line serialized casefile system (database), which contains mining claim data and information about federal current and historical leases, permits, land and mineral acquisitions, sales and exchanges, grants, withdrawals and more.
   http://www.blm.gov/or/landrecords/index.php
7. Shaping America's History - The National BLM Homestead Act website: This site provides information on homesteaders' stories and the BLM's role in preserving them.
   http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/res/Education_in_BLM/homestead_act.html
8. The Public Lands Foundation: Celebrating the 200th anniversary of the establishment of the General Land Office, and the 150th anniversary of the passage of the Homestead Act of 1862. Learn more about how PLF is working to educate America regarding that history and the value of the public lands.
   http://www.publicland.org