While every state at one time had a land grant and/or a fund for education, the trusts have always differed from state to state. The school trust concept evolved over time until the survey system established in the General Land Ordinance of 1785 set aside the center section in each township, numbered 16 for schools. As each state entered the union, they accepted the grants along with the role of trustee on behalf of the school and institutional beneficiaries enumerated in the Enabling Act. The background documents provided on this site refer to both trusts granted prior to 1805 under the General Land Ordinance of 1785 and those granted before then. It wasn't until 2003 that CLASS research rediscovered the existence of school trusts in the original thirteen colony states as well as other states entering the union before 1805. Research to date has focused primarily on those states with known remaining school lands.