There’s a big, old, falling-apart book on the counter of Franklin County Recorder Danny O’Connor’s Downtown office.

For years — decades, really — title searchers and others formally submitting documents haven’t given it much notice. It’s full of Torrens certificates, a land registration system from a bygone era that today is mostly ignored.

"It just sits there," said Melissa Messina-Lanthorn, O’Connor’s chief of staff. "Some people know to look at it, but most people don’t even know what’s in it or what you’re supposed to even use it for."

The book's days could be numbered, however, as county officials launch the formal process for abolishing the antiquated land registration system.

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The land registrations were named after an Australian official who generally gets credit for establishing the system in the 1800s, providing an extra layer of protection for landowners wanting to keep ownership of their holdings out of the hands of squatters or others.

Property recording systems have advanced significantly since the days of settlement and initial urban development in Ohio, and Torrens has long since fallen out of favor in the state.

Franklin County is one of only seven counties that haven't abolished Torrens, said Eric Sells, human resources director in the recorder’s office.

Some places, like Hamilton County, had tens of thousands of parcels designated under the system.

But Torrens never took off in Franklin County. Today, fewer than 40 parcels are involved, out of the 400,000-plus on file.

The first entry in Franklin County’s Torrens book was made back in 1914. The last original registration came sometime in the 1930s. And the most recent action was about 17 years ago, when the owner of a Worthington property moved to withdraw the lot’s registration, Sells said.

"There’s only a few properties impacted, with no known property owners treating it as if it’s registered land," O’Connor said.

Sells scrutinized all 200-plus pages of Franklin County’s Torrens book and determined that there were about three dozen original property registrations.

Many of the affected parcels today are slivers of larger properties. For example, there’s 30 feet of frontage on Woodruff Avenue on the Ohio State University campus that’s listed in the registry. It’s just off Peasley Street, which no longer exists, Sells said.

Owners of many of the original registered sites voluntarily withdrew their parcels in years past, and most of the others have disregarded the registry in favor of the mainstream recording system.

County officials started talking about abolishing the system a few years ago, when one part of a larger area slated for development was found to be registered.

"No one really knew what to do with it, and it was kind of complicated," Messina-Lanthorn said.

O’Connor revisited the issue when he took office in 2017, culminating with a recent vote by county commissioners to start the process for abolishing the Torrens system.

In coming weeks, county officials will complete a cost-benefit analysis, followed by a public hearing on the results and a final vote by the commissioners. The process should be completed toward the end of summer.

"There’s no negative impact on property owners," O’Connor said. "We can still maintain records on this land through our current system."

What will happen with all of those aging pages in the county’s Torrens book? They also will be digitized and available for posterity.

"These are all going to be scanned; all now (will be) available on our website … publicly available for free," Sells said. "Now, instead of having to come in and ask for that book, now you can actually find it online."

mkovac@dispatch.com

@OhioCapitalBlog