Land grant A land grant is a gift of land made by the government for projects such as roads , railroads , or rewards for military service , or especially academic institutions . Roman soldiers were given rewards at the end of their service including cash or land ( praemia ) . Augustus fixed the amount in AD 5 at 3000 denarii and by the time of Caracalla it had risen to 5000 denarii . In the 18th century , land grants were given for the purpose of establishing settlements , missions , and farms . During the 19th century , four out of the five transcontinental railroads in the United States were built using land grants , as was the Canadian Pacific Railway . Regarding academia , the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890 have given nearly 100 United States colleges and universities large areas of public land , which in turn were sold by the institutions and the proceeds placed into endowment funds to provide them financial support in creating and sustaining agricultural and mechanical academic programs . See also Land-grant university Sea-grant college Space-grant college Atrisco Land Grant  This law -related article is a stub . You can help Wikipedia by expanding it . Categories : Law stubs | Real property law 