County Orders Legislation Overview

On February 18, 1835, the Kentucky General Assembly passed legislation that established the County Court Orders Patent Series. Warrants issued by County Courts would authorize land patents rather than Warrants sold by the Kentucky Land Office. (For more information on state-issued warrants, see  "Kentucky Land Warrants Patent Series" on this website.) County Courts decided which lands, within their boundaries, were unappropriated and subject to land patenting. County Surveyors plotted the metes and bounds and wrote the survey description; the Governor of Kentucky issued the Grant finalizing the patent. (Title was not granted by county courts; county courts simply issued Warrants necessary for the remainder of the patenting process.) With over 70,239 separate patent files, the County Court Orders Series has developed into the largest patent series in the Land Office.

Complete text of the original 1835 Act establishing the patenting process for the County Court Orders Series is included on this website. Complete text of the Acts amending the process will be added as the Acts are identified.