The Commissioner of the Land Office is appointed by the Governor,
with the consent of the Senate, to hold office during the term of the
Governor (Const. 1867, Art. VII, sec. 14). The Land Office keeps rec-
ords pertaining to boundaries of land, including records of all war.
rants, certificates, and patents for land from the settlement of the
Province of Maryland in 1634; abstracts of deeds from 1786 to the
June 1, 1949; and abstracts of mortgages and releases from 1900 to
June 1, 1949. Every clerk, after he records any deed, mortgage,
release of mortgage, or lease of real estate, must make or have made
a 35 mm. microfilm copy of every such record and transmit it to
the Commissioner of the Land Office at the end of each year. The
Commissioner hears and determines all disputes which may arise
concerning the validity of surveys. The Land Office is now engaged in
making, filing, and recording plats for current subdivisions of land;
copies of such plats are sent to the Supervisors of Assessment upon
request. All plats filed with the Clerks of Courts before June I,
1945, have been microfilmed by the Land Office. (Code 1951, Art.
17, secs. 69, 70, 73, 74; Art. 56, secs. 1-16, 18, 19, 25).

All land now included in the limits of the State of Maryland was
granted to Cecil, Lord Baltimore, in 1632. In 1680, the Proprietor
established a Land Office, and four years later "The Land Council."
This body was authorized to hear and determine all matters relating to
land. Four years later, when Maryland became a crown colony, the
Land Office closed. In 1715, after a long contest with the Governor,
Council, Secretary, and Assembly, the Lord Proprietor emerged with
his rights restored, and the Land Office reopened. After the Revolu-
tion, the State assumed the control of the Land Office (Acts Feb.
sess. 1777, ch. 15). From 1781 until 1841, there was a Land Office
for the Western Shore and another for the Eastern Shore. The Con-
stitution of 1851 created the office of the Commissioner of the Land
Office.
Appropriations 1957 1958

General Fund .......................$27,275 $27,275
Staff: 6

HALL OF RECORDS COMMISSION

Chairman: Frederick W. Brune, Chief Judge, Court of Appeals
Theodore R. McKeldin, Governor; J. Millard Tawes, Comp-
troller; Richard D. Weigle, President, St. John's College;
George L. Radcliffe, President, Maryland Historical Society;
William L. Marbury, President, Board of Peabody Institute;
Milton J. Eisenhower, President, Johns Hopkins University.
Morris L. Radoff, Archivist and Records Administrator

Gust Skordas, Assistant Archivist

Rex Beach, Assistant Records Administrator

Hall of Records, Annapolis Telephone: Colonial 3.4111

The Hall of Records Commission was created by an act of the Gen-
eral Assembly of 1935. The Commission is an ex officio body. It su-
pervises and controls the Hall of Records and appoints the Archivist,
who is responsible for the functioning of the agency (Code 1951, Art.
41, secs. 148,149).

State agencies as well as the counties, cities and towns of Mary-
land are authorized to offer for deposit at the Hall of Records all files,
documents, and records not in current use. Should the Archivist decline
to accept the materials offered, permission to destroy them may be
requested from the Board of Public Works. If permission is granted