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Railroad Land for Sale

Railroad companies were given extensive tracts of public land as an incentive to build lines into the western United States - land that they in turn were free to sell. The map below was part of a land promotion in Nebraska by the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad.

To Start You Thinking -

  • 1) Click on the map for a larger version you can zoom. Describe the location and the pattern of the land that was being offered for sale by the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad.

    2) The Platte River had been the traditional route through Nebraska along the Oregon Trail. Where was the land being offered for sale in relation to the Platte? Why might this cause you to doubt the claim these were some of the "Finest Lands in the West"?

from "Map of the state of Nebraska showing the lands of the Burlington & Missouri Riv. R.R. Co. in Nebraska," Published by G.W. & C.B. Colton & Co., New York, 1876. Found at Land Grants for the Railroads, NebraskaStudies.org.
Last modified in October, 2011 by Rick Thomas