Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Virginia. Land Office. Account book of purchases certified to the Governor for payment from the Virginia Land Office, 1874-1889. Accession Land Office inventory entry no. 135, State government records collection, The Library of Virginia, Archives Branch, Richmond, VA 23219.

Acquisition Information

Accession LOI 135 transferred by the Secretary of the Commonwealth, 1948.

Historical Information

The act which established the previous Land Office passed the General Assembly on 22 June 1779. The register was the head of the Office and was appointed by joint ballot of both houses of the legislature. The office of the Superintendent of Weights and Measures was abolished by an act of 7 February 1867, and his duties were transferred to the register of the Land Office. The records of the Land Office which were in the custody of the Secretary of the Commonwealth were transferred to the State Library, and, by Act of Assembly on 5 March 1952, the duties of the regsiter of the Land Office were transferred from the Secretary of the Commonwealth to the state librarian.

Scope and Content

These records contain a volume arranged in columns listing the date a person was paid, the name of the individual, the nature of the service or product, and the amount paid. These services concern only the Executive Mansion and the Capitol. There are also several pages related to appropriations for specific projects, including repairs to state cattle pens, the conservatory at the governor's house, and the state court house, and for building urinals, as well as special appropriations for the library and the governor's mansion. Another section lists sales of the "Summary" in 1876. Two newspaper clippings inviting sealed proposals for furnishing coal for state buildings are pasted into the back cover of the volume.

Information relevant to the Capitol police force, such as the names of men assigned to duty on Sundays and holidays and of men absent from duty on specific days and the reasons for their absence, is included for part of the period.

Most of the entries are dated between 1874-1880 and 1886-1889.

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

• Virginia State Capitol (Richmond, Va.
• Virginia. Capitol Police.
• Virginia. Land Office.

Subjects:

• Public buildings -- Virginia -- Richmond.

Geographical Names:

• Virginia -- Officials and employees -- Salaries, etc.

Genre and Form Terms:

• Account books.
• State government records.