rants, certificates, and patents for land from the settlement of the
Province of Maryland in 1634. 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 con-
cerning 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 1, 1945,
have been microfilmed by the Land Office (Code 1957, Art. 17, secs. 57,
58, 61, 62; Art. 54, secs. 1-53).

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 Revolution,
the State assumed 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 Constitution of 1851
created the office of the Commissioner of the Land Office.

Appropriations 1963 1964

General Funds........ . $29,834 $29,834
Staff: 6.

MARYLAND HISTORICAL TRUST

Chairman: Mrs. Charles W. Williams, 1967

Ex officio members: J. Millard Tawes, William S. James, A. Gordon

Boone.

Appointed members: Mrs. George E. Burnett, 1964; Goodloe E.
Byron, 1964; Philip S. Stirling, 1964; Mrs. J. Henry Hooper,
1965; Mrs. Frank W. Mish, 1965; George L. Radcliffe, 1965;
Paul D. Brown, 1966; John E. Clark, 1966; Charles W. Kellogg,
1966; Kent R. Mullikin, 1967; Morris L. Radoff, 1967.

Director: Orlando Ridout IV

Old Treasury Building, Annapolis Telephone: Colonial 8-0004

The Maryland Historical Trust was created by Chapter 620, Acts
of 1961, to have perpetual existence. Its purpose is to preserve and
maintain historical, aesthetic and cultural properties, buildings, fix-
tures, and furnishings pertaining to the State of Maryland.

The Trust, which is a corporate body, is composed of fifteen trus-
tees of whom the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the
Speaker of the House of Delegates, or their representatives, are ex
officio members. The remaining trustees are appointed by the Gover-
nor as follows: three for one year; three for two years; three for
three years; and three for four years. As their terms expire, their
successors are to be elected by a vote of the trustees for four-year
terms. The trustees serve without compensation, and elect one of their
number as chairman. The trustees may also appoint a Director and
such other persons as may be necessary to operate the Trust. The
Trust is to make a report annually to the Governor and the General
Assembly together with any recommendations to further the pur-
pose of the Trust (Code 1957, 1962 Supp., Art. 41, secs. 181A-181K).