Cabin Rights
Encyclopedia
At an early period in the settlement of the American Frontier
, pioneers asserted their claims to parts of wild lands by blazing trees around the desired boundary, and later comers customarily recognized the claims: tomahawk rights
, they were called. Building a cabin and raising a crop, however small, of grain of any kind, led to "cabin rights," which were recognized not only by custom but also by law. The laws of the colonies and states varied in their requirements of the settler. In Virginia
the occupant was entitled to 400 acres (1.6 km²) of land and to a preemption
right to 1000 acres (4 km²) more adjoining, to be secured in either case by a land-office warrant, the basis of a later patent or grant from colonial or state authorities.
Frontier
A frontier is a political and geographical term referring to areas near or beyond a boundary. 'Frontier' was absorbed into English from French in the 15th century, with the meaning "borderland"--the region of a country that fronts on another country .The use of "frontier" to mean "a region at the...
, pioneers asserted their claims to parts of wild lands by blazing trees around the desired boundary, and later comers customarily recognized the claims: tomahawk rights
Tomahawk rights
Tomahawk right was a means by which settlers during early period of frontier settlements in the United States would claim title to a tract of land...
, they were called. Building a cabin and raising a crop, however small, of grain of any kind, led to "cabin rights," which were recognized not only by custom but also by law. The laws of the colonies and states varied in their requirements of the settler. In Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
the occupant was entitled to 400 acres (1.6 km²) of land and to a preemption
Pre-emption right
A pre-emption right is a right to acquire certain property in preference to any other person. It comes from the Latin verb emo, emere, emi, emptum, to buy or purchase, plus the inseparable preposition pre, before. It usually refers to property newly coming into existence...
right to 1000 acres (4 km²) more adjoining, to be secured in either case by a land-office warrant, the basis of a later patent or grant from colonial or state authorities.