Sales of public land by the United States Government in Indiana began in 1801. Sales at the Jeffersonville Land Office began in 1808. This receipt book from the Jeffersonville Land Office gives the name and residence of the purchaser, the dates of the purchase, the legal description of the tract purchased, the amount of land, the receipt number, and the price. Similar information is available in the federal Bureau of Land Management's Land Patent Database; however, the date of purchase given in the receipt book is often earlier than the date the land patent was issued.

There is also a second collection as a companion to the Jeffersonville Land Office Receipt Books collection. Some of the books required different transcription settings due to their format.