Washington County (Utah). County Recorder Deeds (Saint George), 1874-1954

In March 1867, Congress passed "An Act for the Relief of the Inhabitants of Cities and Towns upon the Public Lands" (Statutes at Large, Treaties, and Proclamations, of the United States of America, vol. XIV, chap. CLXXVII), which established county probate judges or mayors as intermediaries who would distribute land and adjudicate ownership for individuals living in surveyed communities on the public domain. As the Washington County probate court proceeded to follow this direction, the county recorder established a new set of deeds books for the city of Saint George. The first records in these books are conveyances from the federal government to the mayor of Saint George followed by conveyances from the mayor to individual claimants (Deed Book F). Thereafter, the deed books contain a wide variety of documents relating to real property in Saint George or the immediate vicinity. The documents in these books include warranty or quit claim deeds conveying property from one individual toanother. They contain patents, desert land and homestead certificates validating individual homesteads or purchases in the public domain, and state land certificates issued to those who purchased state land. They contain tax deeds and sheriff's deeds chronicling the sale of property for unpaid taxes or debts. Whenever 5th District Court settled an estate or otherwise adjudicated a land related issue, the court decree was also recorded in the deed books.

Some documents are of particular note. Deed Book O contains a significant number of indentures dealing with the disposition of Brigham Young's property in Washington County. It also contains a number of deeds for city lots being sold according to the provisions of a resolution passed by the Saint George City Council at a special meeting held 12 Aug 1878. Deed Book Y 4 contains numerous oil leases and agreements. Deed Book Y 7 contains numerous right of way deeds authorizing installation of telephone and electric wires and poles. Thesedeeds include diagrams showing where these will be installed on each property. In addition to land related records, a significant number of miscellaneous records pepper this series. These include death certificates, incorporation records, military discharges, powers of attorney, bishop's and stake president's certificates and assorted documents from 5th District Court, including details of a case about the waste of irrigation water in Saint George (1909). Book T contains a notice listing individuals to whom credit should not be extended.