Jackson Purchase Land Locator Home Page

The Jackson Purchase region of Kentucky was acquired under the October 19, 1818, land treaty between the United States and the Chickasaw Indian Nation. On February 14, 1820, the Kentucky General Assembly passed legislation that established the public land system for mapping the newly-acquired Jackson Purchase in western Kentucky. The lands would be "laid off" in Townships, Ranges and Sections.

While Virginia Revolutionary War veterans were filing their patent applications in the West of Tennessee River area (see "West of Tennessee River Military Patents" under "Military Registers & Land Records" on this website), William T. Henderson was mapping the Jackson Purchase as mandated by the 1820 legislation.

Non-military tracts located West of the Tennessee River were sold by quarter-sections. Land sales were overseen by state-appointed "Receivers" with offices in Waidesborough (Wadesboro) & Princeton. For each quarter-section purchased, the buyer would be issued a receipt declaring purchase price and tract location using the range-township method. Receipts were assignable; buyers could transfer quarter-sections by recording assignments on the back of the receipt. The Receiver would then send receipts (for the prospective landowner) to Frankfort for the issuance of the Governor's Grant finalizing the patent.

There are 9,308 patents in the "West of Tennessee River Non-Military" Series. Original Receipts and Grant copies are available from the Secretary of State's Land Office in Frankfort, Kentucky. When indexing is completed, the West of Tennessee River Non-Military Patents Database, which includes links to scanned images of patent files, will be available online.