School trust lands granted to each state for its public schools, and the federal public lands alongside them.
When most western and midwestern states joined the Union, Congress set aside sections in every surveyed township—usually Sections 16 and 36—to support public schools. Some states kept that land and still earn money for schools from it; others sold it early. Every square mile has a story, and the records start with the federal surveys.
▶ Watch: We All Own Public Land (1:10): three school sections and three fates, from the Chicago Loop to an Oregon land-fraud ring to New Mexico oil.
Map stories, each drawn live from the BLM survey grid: Chicago’s Section 16 · Oregon’s Section 36 and the Puter land ring · New Mexico’s Section 32
Illinois · Section 16, Township 39 North, Range 14 East, Third Principal Meridian · the Chicago Loop
The 1818 Illinois Enabling Act set aside this Section 16 for schools. It turned out to be the heart of downtown Chicago. In October 1833, when Chicago was a frontier town of a few hundred people, 140 of its 144 blocks were auctioned for a combined $38,619.47. Only a few blocks were kept, and they paid Chicago schools ground rent for the next 190 years.
Oregon · Section 36, Township 11 South, Range 7 East, Willamette Meridian · High Cascades near Mt. Jefferson
Oregon's 1859 statehood act gave this section to the state for schools. In the late 1890s, after it was enclosed by the Cascade Range Forest Reserve, a land ring tied to Stephen A. Douglas Puter bought school sections like it for $1.25 an acre, using dummy entrymen and forged oaths. Under the 1897 Forest Lieu Act, the ring traded the rocky mountain land back to the government for scrip to claim prime timber elsewhere. Oregon's school fund got about $800 for the square mile; the ring's story ended in federal indictments.
New Mexico · Section 32, Township 24 South, Range 35 East, New Mexico Principal Meridian · Lea County, Permian Basin
New Mexico received four school sections per township and had to sell only at appraised value through competitive bidding. The first surveyors called this square mile barren alkali and caliche flats. Cattle still graze on top, but the state kept the minerals underneath, and today oil and gas royalties from land like this flow into New Mexico's Land Grant Permanent Fund.
Utah · Sections 2, 16, 32 and 36 of every township · Salt Lake Meridian
Utah's 1894 Enabling Act granted four sections per township for its schools. Much of that land is still held in trust and managed today, with surface, mineral and lease records published on Utah's trust lands open data portal. Some of Utah's school sections were traded for consolidated blocks elsewhere, so following one section can lead across the state.
While School Trust lands belong to the individual states to support public education, neighboring federal public lands are managed under distinct statutory conservation and multiple-use mandates. Explore records and visitor resources from our federal neighbors:
Explore the showcase dossiers, with the survey-grid map → · Watch the videos →