Chapter XXXI. *granting Public Lands, in alternate Sections, to the States of Florida and Alabama, to aid in the Construction of certain Railroads in said States.* May 17, 1856. *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, * That, there be and is
1,159 words·~5 min read·
/statutes-at-large/vol-11/chapter-xxxi·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Chap. XXXI.— An Act *granting Public Lands, in alternate Sections, to the States of Florida and Alabama, to aid in the Construction of certain Railroads in said States.* May 17, 1856. *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, * That, there be and is hereby granted to the State of Florida, for the purpose of aiding in the constructionGrant of lands to Florida for railroads. of railroads from St. John’s River, at Jacksonville, to the waters of Escambia Bay, at or near Pensacola; and from Amelia Island, on the Atlantic, to the waters of Tampa Buy, with a branch to Cedar Key, on the Gulf of Mexico; and also a railroad from Pensacola to the State line of Alabama, in the direction of Montgomery, every alternate section of land designated by odd numbers, for six sections in width on each side of each of said roads ’and branch.
But in case it shall appear that theGrant in lieu of sold or preempted sections. United States have, when the lines or routes of said roads arid branch are definitely fixed, sold any sections, or any parts thereof, granted as aforesaid, or that the right of preemption has attached to the same, then it shall be lawful for any agent or agents to be appointed by the governor of said State, to select, subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, from the lands of the United States nearest to the tiers of sections above specified, so much land in alternate sections or parts of sections, as shall be equal to such lands as the United States have sold, or otherwise appropriated, or to which the rights of preemption have attached as aforesaid; which lands (thus selected in lieu of those sold and to which preemption rights have attached as aforesaid, together with the sections and parts of sections designated by odd numbers, as aforesaid, and appropriated as aforesaid,) shall be held by the State of Florida for the use and purpose aforesaid: *Provided,* That the land to be so 16THIRTY-FOURTH CONGRESS.
Sess. I. Ch. 31. 1856.located shall in no case be further than fifteen miles from the lines of said roads and branch, and selected for and on Grant, how applied.account of each of said roads and branch: *Provided further,* That the lands hereby granted for and on account of said roads and branch, severally, shall be exclusively applied in the construction of that road or branch for and on account of which such lands are hereby granted, and shall be disposed of only as the work progresses, and the same shall be applied to no other purpose whatsoever:
Act not to apply to reservations except as to right of way.*And provided further,* That any and all lands heretofore reserved to the United States by any act of Congress, or in any other manner by competent authority, for the purpose of aiding in any object of internal improvement, or for any other purpose whatsoever, be, and the same are hereby, reserved to the United States from the operation of this act, except so far as it may be found necessary to locate the routes of said railroads or branch through such reserved lands; in which ease the right of way only shall be granted, subject to the approval of the President of the United States.
Sec. 2. Price of alternate sections to be doubled. *And be it further enacted,* That the sections and parts of sections of land which, by such grant, shall remain to the United States within six miles on each side of said roads and branch, shall not be sold for less than double the minimum price of the public lands when sold; nor shall any of said lands become subject to private entry until the same have been first offered at public sale at (he increased price. Sec. 3. Object of grant. *And be it further enacted,* That the said lands hereby granted to the said State shall be subject to the disposal of the legislature thereof Railway to be a public highway for government.for the purposes aforesaid, and no other; and the said railroads and branch shall be and remain public highways for the use of the government of the United States, free from toll or other charge upon the transportation of any property or troops of the United States.
Sec. 4. Lands, how disposed of. *And be it further enacted,* That the lands hereby granted to said State shall be disposed of by said State only in manner following, that is to say: that a quantity of land, not exceeding one hundred and twenty sections for each of said roads and branch, and included within a continuous length of twenty miles of each of said roads and branch, may be sold; and when the governor of said State shall certify to the Secretary of the Interior that any twenty continuous miles of any or either of said roads or branch, is completed, then another quantity of land hereby granted, not to exceed one hundred and twenty sections for each of said roads or branch having twenty continuous miles completed as aforesaid, and included within a continuous length of twenty miles of each of such roads or branch, may be sold; and so, from time to time, until said roads and branch are completed; and if any or either of said roads or branch is not completed within ten years, no further sales shall be made, and the lands unsold shall revert to the United States.
Sec. 5. Transportation of mail. *And be it further enacted,* That the United States mail shall be transported over said roads and branch, under the direction of the Post-Office Department, at such price as Congress may, by law, direct: *Provided,* That until such price is fixed by law, the Postmaster-General shall have the power to determine the same. Sec. 6. Similar grant to Alabama. *And be it further enacted,* That a similar grant of alternate sections of public kind is hereby made to the State of Alabama, to aid in the construction of a railroad from Montgomery, in said State, to the boundary line between Florida and Alabama, in the direction of Pensacola, and to connect with the road from Pensacola to said line, upon the same terms and conditions in all respects as are hereinbefore prescribed for the grant to Florida.
Approved, May 17, 1856. Chapter XXXVI: to transfer certain Rights and Duties conferred upon the Trustees of the Town of Vincennes, Indiana, to the Common Council of the City of Vincennes. 11 Stat. 17 1856-06-02 Chapter XXXVI Little, Brown and Company text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. Digitization Vendor 2026-01-11 34 2 public THIRTY-FOURTH CONGRESS. Sess. I. Ch. 36, 41. 1856. 17
Connectionstraces to 1
Traces to 1 document
Citation graph
cites case law
Chapter XXXI
*granting Public Lands, in alternate Sections, to the States of Florida and Alabama, to aid in the Construction of certain Railroads in said States.* May 17, 1856. *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, * That, there be and is
Cites 1Cited by 0 across 0 sources