The Donation Land Act of 1850 set into motion the direct involvement of the General Land Office in Oregon and created the Office of the Surveyor-General of Oregon, provided for the public land surveys, and provided for the donation of public lands to settlers. Including a number of additional public land disposal laws, a total of nearly 33 million acres of public domain land in Oregon have been conveyed into private and state ownership. Prime examples include the 1862 Homestead Act signed by President Lincoln and land grants to Oregon and railroad companies. The GLO's key role in American history leaves a legacy of extraordinary accomplishments in the administration and disposition of the public domain - most notably the success of the vast Public Land Survey System, the settlement and development of the West, and the management of the nation's natural resources.

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History of public land policies and settlement of Oregon.