Placer County Land Claim Records
Finding aid created by Placer County Archives staff using RecordEXPRESS
Placer County Archives
2020
101 Maple Street
Auburn, California 95603
(530) 889-7789
http://www.placer.ca.gov/museum
Title: Placer County Land Claim Records
Dates: 1852-1876
Collection Number: 2230.11.5-.6
Creator/Collector:
Placer County Clerk-Recorder
Extent: 5 Volumes, one box of loose pages
Repository:
Placer County Archives
Auburn, California 95603
Abstract: The Placer County Archives maintains a collection of official Placer County Records regarding the filing of a Land Claim.
Language of Material: English
The Collection is open for research by appointment. A separate index has been created for the volumes A, B and C and is available
at the Archives. Appointment times are available on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays from 9-3.
Placer County Land Claim Records. Placer County Archives
Biography/Administrative History
The Gold Rush of 1848-49 brought thousands of hopeful miners to what would become Placer County. Although miners were notorious
for moving about in search of better gold fields, this area was settled early in the Gold Rush by farmers, merchants, bankers,
and tradesmen. Placer County was formed in 1851 and official record keeping began. Many of the Land Claims in this collection
are Pre-emptive or Squatter’s Rights claims. Many properties in early Placer County had been settled before an organized
government was in place. Land Claims and Pre-emptive Claims allowed those who had settled and improved their property to
legally claim it.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Placer County Land Claims Collection includes five bound volumes and one box. The Land Claims contain the name of the
claimant, the date notice was filed and date it was recorded, the boundaries of the property, the number of acres, a surveyor’s
name and occasionally a diagram of the property claimed.