Here is how it works. It starts with two reference lines. An east to west line called a baseline, and a north to south line called the principal meridian. Those two lines intersect at what is called the fixed Point of Beginning. From the fixed Point of Beginning, lines are drawn about every six miles on both sides of the baseline, and every six miles on both sides of the meridian line.
A square that measures 6 miles on each side has an area of 36 square miles 6 times 6 , so each township covers 36 square miles. This is a very important point, so let me repeat it! Townships cover 36 square miles. Each township of 36 square miles is divided into 36 sections, meaning each section of the township measures 1 square mile. All sections may not be a perfect 1 square mile as there are things like lakes and other natural borders.
And of course, most properties are not a perfect square mile, so there are ways of identifying areas inside of each section. First, we need to look at how properties are located in each township. Remember that each township has lines called tiers running east to west, and range lines running north and south. A township is identified by specifying how many tiers it is north or south of the baseline, and how many range lines it is east or west of the principal meridian.
In our example, the legal description describes the township as tier 4 north, range 5 west. This identifies the township as being 4 tiers north of the baseline and 5 range lines west of the principal meridian. Now we have identified the township T4N R5W, which stands for tier four north range fice west. The witness objects are designed to allow subsequent surveyors and landowners to find the original corner monument location should the actual monument be destroyed.
It was not uncommon for squatters or homesteaders to destroy corner monuments if they felt the patenting of the land would threaten their residence on it. For this reason, destruction of corner monuments or their witness objects is a federal offense. Because the grid is rectangular and the earth is round, adjustments must be made periodically; not all sections can be one square mile nor can all townships be exactly 36 square miles 93 km 2.
These adjustments are done within each township by starting the sectional surveys of the township in the southeast corner and moving progressively toward the northwest corner. The northernmost and westernmost tier of sections—11 in all—are allowed to deviate from one square mile, but the other 25 are not. This method accommodates the curvature effects, and also allows for the correction of errors made during the surveying—which were not uncommon—without overly compromising the rectangular nature of the system.
The elements of such descriptions are interpreted from right to left, so we are describing a plot of land in the township that is the third east of the Range Line R3E and the second south of the base line T2S. We are also looking at section 22 in that township refer to the grid above. Next that section is divided into quarters acres each , and we should be in the SE quarter section. That section is divided again in quarters 40 acres and the description calls for the SW quarter.
Last in this description, it is quartered again into acre 40, m 2 plots, as we want the NW quarter. So, in language, the example plot is the NW quarter of the SW quarter of the SE quarter of section 22 of the township that is the second south of the base line and the third east of the range line. As an area became settled a township and county name might replace the range and base line numbers, but they can always be traced backwards.
Some western states have only one base line. Notice that these states have straight line borders to the north or south. This means that all the townships in the state are either north or south. The base line for survey of the Kansas and Nebraska territories was the 40th parallel dividing them. They also typically have only one principal meridian.
Under the act, section 16 of each township was set aside for school purposes, and as such was often called the school section.
Section 36 was also frequently used as a school section. The various states and counties ignored, altered or amended this provision in their own ways, but the general intended effect was a guarantee that local schools would have an income and that the community schoolhouses would be centrally located for all children.
An example of land allotments made specifically for higher education is Ohio's College Township. As roads have typically been laid out along section boundaries spaced one mile 1. Such roads in urban areas are known as arterials or section line roads , usually designed primarily for automobile travel and limited in their use for non-motorized travel. In post-World War II suburbs, commercial development has largely occurred along and at intersections of arterials, while the rest of the former square-mile sections have generally filled with residential development, as well as schools, religious facilities, and parks.
Occasionally, and more frequently in a metropolitan region's inner postwar suburbs than in outer areas, arterials are located at approximately half-mile intervals. This strictly regimented urban or suburban structure has coincided with the similarly strict practice of Euclidean zoning , in which use of a property is dictated and regulated by zoning district, the boundaries of which often being derived from locations of arterials.
The land system is an important part of American history and culture. Among other things, the stock phrases "lower 40", "front 40", "back 40", and "40 acres and a mule," which are sometimes heard in American movies, reference the quarter-quarter section. Homesteading, another staple of American western culture, was also dependent on the Public Land Survey System. In the original Homestead Act of , during the Lincoln Administration, each settler was allocated acres 0.
To see the divisions between the townships, we have to zoom in to the edges of the map area and look for the red text. The image below this large map shows an enlargement of such a division along the top edge of the map where the orange township boundary intersects the map edge. See below where the orange line separates R. Section: The basic unit of the system, a square piece of land one mile by one mile containing acres.
Township: 36 sections arranged in a 6 by 6 square, measuring 6 miles by 6 miles. Sections are numbered beginning with the northeast-most section 1 , proceeding west to 6, then south along the west edge of the township and to the east 36 is in the SE corner. Range: Assigned to a township by measuring east or west of a Principal Meridian.
Range Lines: The north to south lines which mark township boundaries. Township Lines: The east to west lines which mark township boundaries. Principal Meridian: The reference or beginning point for measuring east or west ranges. Base line: Reference or beginning point for measuring north or south townships.
Understanding Land Descriptions. We'll start with the largest grouping, the township. The location of a particular township is given using the terminology of 'township and range'. The township is named in reference to a Principal Meridian and a Baseline. Here is an example, T. The T. Next, each township is divided into 36 sections. Each section is one mile square and contains acres.
The sections are numbered from 1 to 36 in the order shown in the chart to the left see the yellow squares which show a 'complete' township.
The other colored squares represent 'incomplete' townships.
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