As the general survey of public land was completed, the surveyor general determined which of the surveyed land fell within the definition of the swamp land grant. Copies of the lists were forwarded to the local land offices of the General Land Office [GLO] and the State Land Office. This is a merged file of records from the GLO, State Land Office, and U.S. Surveyor General.

The lists contain the following information: land district in which the designated land was located; legal description of the swamp and overflowed tracts, citing the range, township, section, and fractional section; name of river, watercourse, or other cause that rendered the tract swamp and overflowed within the meaning of the grant; statement of the grounds for the surveyor general's designation of the listed tracts as swamp and overflowed; and date the surveyor general submitted the lists to the local land office. Some lists include annotations made by the register and receiver of the local land office indicating disposition of the land.