The work of federal eminent domain attorneys correlates with the major events and undertakings of the United States throughout the twentieth century. The needs of a growing population for more and updated modes of transportation triggered many additional acquisitions in the early decades of the century, for constructing railroads or maintaining navigable waters. Albert Hanson Lumber Company v. United States, 261 U.S. 581 (1923), for instance, allowed the United States to take and improve a canal in Louisiana. Show
 The 1930s brought a flurry of land acquisition cases in support of New Deal policies that aimed to resettle impoverished farmers, build large-scale irrigation projects, and establish new national parks. Condemnation was used to acquire lands for the Shenandoah, Mammoth Cave, and Great Smoky Mountains National Parks. See Morton Butler Timber Co. v. United States, 91 F.2d 884 (6th Cir. 1937)). Thousands of smaller land and natural resources projects were undertaken by Congress and facilitated by the Division’s land acquisition lawyers during the New Deal era. For example, condemnation in United States v. Eighty Acres of Land in Williamson County, 26 F. Supp. 315 (E.D. Ill. 1939), acquired forestland around a stream in Illinois to prevent erosion and silting, while Barnidge v. United States, 101 F.2d 295 (8th Cir. 1939), allowed property acquisition for and designation of a historic site in St. Louis associated with the Louisiana Purchase and the Oregon Trail. During World War II, the Assistant Attorney General called the Lands Division “the biggest real estate office of any time or any place.” It oversaw the acquisition of more than 20 million acres of land. Property was transformed into airports and naval stations (e.g., Cameron Development Company v. United States 145 F.2d 209 (5th Cir. 1944)), war materials manufacturing and storage (e.g., General Motors Corporation v. United States, 140 F.2d 873 (7th Cir. 1944)), proving grounds, and a number of other national defense installations. Land Acquisition Section attorneys aided in the establishment of Big Cypress National Preserve in Florida and the enlargement of the Redwood National Forest in California in the 1970s and 1980s. They facilitated infrastructure projects including new federal courthouses throughout the United States and the Washington, D.C. subway system, as well as the expansion of facilities including NASA’s Cape Canaveral launch facility (e.g., Gwathmey v. United States, 215 F.2d 148 (5th Cir. 1954)). The numbers of land acquisition cases active today on behalf of the federal government are below the World War II volume, but the projects undertaken remain integral to national interests. In the past decade, Section attorneys have been actively involved in conservation work, assisting in the expansion of Everglades National Park in Florida (e.g., U.S. v. 480.00 Acres of Land, 557 F.3d 1297 (11th Cir. 2009)) and the creation of Valles Caldera National Preserve in New Mexico. In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Land Acquisition Section attorneys secured space in New York for federal agencies whose offices were lost with the World Trade Towers. Today, Section projects include acquiring land along hundreds of miles of the United States-Mexico border to stem illegal drug trafficking and smuggling, allow for better inspection and customs facilities, and forestall terrorists. Properties acquired over the hundred years since the creation of the Environment and Natural Resources Section are found all across the United States and touch the daily lives of Americans by housing government services, facilitating transportation infrastructure and national defense and national security installations, and providing recreational opportunities and environmental management areas. For information on the history of the Land Acquisition Section, see the History of the Section. To learn more about the range of projects undertaken by the Land Acquisition Section, click here to view the interactive map titled Where Our Cases Have Taken Us. And for more on the procedural aspects of eminent domain, see the Anatomy of a Condemnation Case. If you're seeing this message, it means we're having trouble loading external resources on our website. If you're behind a web filter, please make sure that the domains *.kastatic.org and *.kasandbox.org are unblocked. Used with permission of the Newberry Library. With questions about reuse of this image, contact the Newberry Library. The copyright holder reserves, or holds for their own use, all the rights provided by copyright law, such as distribution, performance, and creation of derivative works. As railroads sought to expand westward into sparsely settled regions, they faced a serious dilemma: until the lands around the tracks were settled, passenger and freight traffic would be too small for the railroad company to survive. Furthermore, without rail connections, settlement was bound to continue at a slow and gradual pace. The solution came in 1850 when Congress voted to grant more than two million acres to the state of Illinois to aid the construction of a north-south line. Over the next two decades, more than 129,000,000 acres (about 7% of the continental US) was ceded to eighty railroad companies. The awarding of grants led to sectional conflicts, abuses, and continual arguments over whether or not the grants were too generous to the railroads, but in 1872 Poor’s Manual stated that “no policy ever adopted by this or any other government was more beneficial in its results or had tended so powerfully to the development of our resources by the conversion of vast wastes to all uses of civilized life.” While the land grants may not have been all bad, most scholars take a more negative, or more nuanced, view. The railroads that would become the Burlington system received more than 3.5 million acres of federal land grants: 600,000 to the Hannibal & St. Joseph in 1852; about 300,000 to the Burlington & Missouri River Rail Road in 1856; and about 2.5 million acres to the B&M RR in Nebraska. The successful land promotion and settlement policies developed by the Hannibal & St. Joseph were later adopted by the Burlington & Missouri River company as they surveyed, built, and actively promoted settlement on their land along the route from Burlington, Iowa, to the Missouri River, and then from the Missouri to Kearney, Nebraska, where they connected to the Union Pacific railway. The railroad grants helped companies raise the capital they needed to build lines into sparsely settled areas like Nebraska. In exchange, the railways agreed to carry the mail at rates set by Congress and to transport US soldiers and freight without charge. If they failed to complete their lines within a certain time-frame, the lands would revert back to the government. In order for the railroads to develop and sustain profitability, they not only had to sell their lands, but also help to ensure that the settlers’ farms, towns, and businesses along their lines continued to grow and thrive. Map of B.&M. Railroad lands in Nebraska, Columbus District, 1880. Map of B.&M. Railroad lands in Nebraska, Columbus District, 1880. Courtesy of Newberry Library Chicago. CB&Q 769.8. Used with permission of the Newberry Library. With questions about reuse of this image, contact the Newberry Library. The copyright holder reserves, or holds for their own use, all the rights provided by copyright law, such as distribution, performance, and creation of derivative works. Railroad land maps like this one were created to attract settlers and aid them in selecting their land. Typically, the federal government gave the land to the states. The states were to transfer land to the railroads upon the completion of each twenty-mile section of track. The railroad company would then receive alternate sections (a square mile each), six miles on both sides of the track. The price for the alternate sections kept by the government was doubled. If the lands adjacent to the tracks had already been occupied or claimed, the company could make up the full amount by selecting alternate parcels from lieu lands up to fifteen miles on either side of the track. In Nebraska, it was necessary to allow the company to go beyond the 15-mile limit to obtain all of the land to which it was entitled. The lands had previously been surveyed by the US government, and divided into townships, each containing 36 square mile sections. The numbering system is illustrated in the upper left corner of the map. The lower-left corner of the map shows what had been the Pawnee Reservation. Notes of Railroad Lands Examiner J. M. King, 1860. Notes of Railroad Lands Examiner J. M. King, 1860. Courtesy of Newberry Library Chicago. CB&Q 755.1. Used with permission of the Newberry Library. With questions about reuse of this image, contact the Newberry Library. The copyright holder reserves, or holds for their own use, all the rights provided by copyright law, such as distribution, performance, and creation of derivative works. Once railroads had established and surveyed the route for their lines, they then commenced a thorough survey of their land grant holdings. The Instructions to Examiners were based on a memo prepared by Berhardt Henn in 1859 that would, according to Overton, form the “basis of all subsequent examinations.” Henn advised that as soon as the General Land Office provided a “clear list” for the grant lands, the company should appoint at least one examiner. The examiners were to be surveyors who could write legibly and knew how to judge the quality of the land. They were provided with a supply of blank books in which they recorded the results of their detailed examination of each 40-acre parcel in their assigned district. The examiners were expected to make a record of everything of use for valuing the land, and describing it for potential buyers. They were to name a price per acre based on their judgment in the field. The Examiners found problems with the General Land Office surveys, including poorly marked corners. Agents were instructed to talk with neighbors, discover where lodging could be found, and gather names of people with whom potential buyers could correspond. Notes of Railroad Lands Examiner J. M. King, 1860. Notes of Railroad Lands Examiner J. M. King, 1860. Courtesy of Newberry Library Chicago. CB&Q “Notes of Railroad Lands Examiner J. M. King,” vol. 6. p. 1v–2r, 755.1. Used with permission of the Newberry Library. With questions about reuse of this image, contact the Newberry Library. The copyright holder reserves, or holds for their own use, all the rights provided by copyright law, such as distribution, performance, and creation of derivative works. These pages from J. M. King’s survey of the company’s Iowa lands in 1860 show how detailed the Examiners books could be. King even drew contour lines for every ten feet of elevation. He listed the number of voters and how many were Republican and Democrat. He showed the neighbors’ holdings, drew in buildings, a fence, and natural features, where the line was between timber and prairie, and even listed the species of trees in a heavily forested area inside a bend of the river. CB&Q map of Great Republican Valley showing lands of the Burlington & Missouri River R.R. in Nebraska. CB&Q map of Great Republican Valley showing lands of the Burlington & Missouri River R.R. in Nebraska. Courtesy of Newberry Library. CB&Q 769.8. Used with permission of the Newberry Library. With questions about reuse of this image, contact the Newberry Library. The copyright holder reserves, or holds for their own use, all the rights provided by copyright law, such as distribution, performance, and creation of derivative works. Fort Child was established after 1842 to protect the Oregon Trail. It was renamed Fort Kearny in 1848 to honor General Stephen Watts Kearny. The fort was not barricaded and mainly served as a way station and post office for immigrants. Kearney Junction (now just Kearny) was where the B&MR Railroad joined the Union Pacific Railroad. A branch of the B&MR road goes through the Republican Valley. The shaded squares show section granted by the US General Land Office to the B&MR Railroad to sell to settlers to help fund the building of roads. The lighter squares were “for sale, April 1st 1879” suggesting that the map must have been printed before that date. The darker squares represent B&MR lands that have already been sold. Near the bend in the B&MR branch line is the town of Red Cloud, founded in 1871 and named for the Oglala Lakota (Sioux) leader. Oddly enough, in Jules Verne’s 1873 novel, Around the World in Eighty Days, a train under attack by the Sioux stopped and sought help from soldiers at Fort Kearny. Note some of the place names westward and up the Republican River from Red Cloud: Pleasant Ridge, New Era, Freewater, Scandinavia, Green View, Graft. Although Fort Kearny was more a way station than a fort, the succession of fort to settlement symbolizes the passing of the frontier. Detail from map of B. & M.Railroad Lands: View of Elm Creek in Webster County, Nebraska, 1880. Detail from map of B. & M.Railroad Lands: View of Elm Creek in Webster County, Nebraska, 1880. Courtesy of Newberry Library. CB&Q 769.8. Used with permission of the Newberry Library. With questions about reuse of this image, contact the Newberry Library. The copyright holder reserves, or holds for their own use, all the rights provided by copyright law, such as distribution, performance, and creation of derivative works. The back of the land grant maps contained relevant information on local climate, soils, successful crops and illustrations probably intended to entice and reassure potential settlers as well as inform them. This scene shows a gentle pastoral landscape, and seems to invite the viewer to see the land from the eyes of a couple surveying their domain. Back of Columbus District map showing Elkhorn Valley at Oakdale, Antelope County, 1880. Back of Columbus District map showing Elkhorn Valley at Oakdale, Antelope County, 1880. Courtesy of Newberry Library Chicago. CB&Q 769.8. Used with permission of the Newberry Library. With questions about reuse of this image, contact the Newberry Library. The copyright holder reserves, or holds for their own use, all the rights provided by copyright law, such as distribution, performance, and creation of derivative works. While the Burlington had no incentive to deceive potential settlers, the text surrounding this scene suggests that they were not above putting the best possible spin on their land: “It is a pleasure to break the wild prairie, for there are no obstructions in the way of the happy plowman.” The horseman in the illustration seems relaxed as he easily herds his healthy cattle. The orderliness of the scene suggests that the fire in the background is a controlled fire, perhaps to prepare the ground for plowing. Wildfires, often set by cinders from the stacks of steam engines, were common in some regions, and a profound force in vegetation change.
Promotion and Transformation of Landscapes along the CB&Q RailroadThis virtual exhibition shows some of the many ways railroads reshaped landscapes of the American West between 1847 and 1965. This version 2, published in 2020, includes minor updates to the original 2011 virtual exhibition (view PDF here) and applies the Environment & Society Portal’s responsive layout. Eric OlmansonAbout the authorOlmanson, Eric University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA Show moreEric Olmanson studied geography and environmental history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. After completing his PhD in 2000 he served as an institutional historian until 2008. Since then he has been a lecturer at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and has worked on various research and writing projects. His first book, The Future City on the Inland Sea: A History of Imaginative Geographies of Lake Superior, was published by Ohio University Press in 2007. It won the Great Lakes American Studies Association and Ohio University Press book award and was awarded the J. B. Jackson Prize by the Association of American Geographers. He is currently writing a book about the American Medical Center for Burma, 1945–1965. How did the government support the expansion of the railroads?To encourage development of rail lines westward, the government offered railroad companies massive land grants and bonds. Railroads received millions of acres of public lands and sold that land to generate money for the construction of the railroads.
What was one reason the United States government gave subsidies and land grants to railroad companies in the 1800s?The second half of the nineteenth century was the era of railroad land grants. Between 1850 and 1872 extensive cessions of public lands were made to states and to railroad companies to promote railroad construction.
How did the creation of transcontinental railroads benefit the United States?Connecting the two American coasts made the economic export of Western resources to Eastern markets easier than ever before. The railroad also facilitated westward expansion, escalating conflicts between Native American tribes and settlers who now had easier access to new territories.
How much land did federal state and local governments give to railroad companies to encourage construction?In the United States, federal, state, and local governments as well as individuals gave railroad companies gifts of land to build their lines through the Plains. Railroads received an estimated 185 million acres of land from these sources.
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