The National System of Survey.—In the thirteen original States there was no uniform system of land survey, but each tract of land was surveyed as necessity required, generally after settlement had been made upon it. The tracts were of very irregular shapes. The boundary lines, usually starting from some natural object, were measured by rods or chains, running in certain directions as ascertained by the use of the compass. This method of survey is still in use in the Eastern States. According to a law of 1785, a uniform system of "rectangular survey" was applied to all lands belonging to the United States. This survey has preceded settlers, and has to some extent influenced the method of settlement and the nature of local government throughout the West. The lands surveyed have been divided into townships six miles square. For the boundaries of townships the law requires the use of north-and-south and east-and-west lines. To secure starting points from which to run these lines, it was necessary to designate certain meridians as Principal Meridians and certain parallels as Base Lines.
Method of Land Description.—The map indicates the location of Principal Meridians and Base Lines in the States north of the Ohio River. Starting, then, from any Principal Meridian, the tier of townships directly east is called Range I; the other ranges are numbered east and west of that meridian. Counting also from the Base Line, the townships are numbered 1, 2, 3, etc., both north and south. It thus becomes possible to locate precisely any particular township by a simple description: e.g., township 5 north, Range VIII east of the first Principal Meridian.
Since the eastern and western boundaries of townships are meridians, they approach nearer to each other as they go farther north. Hence the townships become less than six miles from east to west as the survey proceeds northward from any base line. This necessitates the running of standard parallel lines, or correction lines, at frequent intervals, to be used as new base lines (Figure 1).
To still further facilitate the sale and description of lands, the law provides for exact methods of subdividing the township into sections, one mile square, numbered as in Figure 2.
Each section is subdivided into rectangular tracts known as halves, quarters, half-quarters, and quarter-quarters. The designations of these divisions are by abbreviations and fractions. (See Figure 3.) The number of acres in each tract is easily computed.
The rectangular system of survey has been a great aid in the subdivision and location of farm lands; it greatly reduces the number of boundary disputes, it determines very largely the location of country roads. Moreover, the Congressional township has become, in a great many instances, the area within which the political township or town has been organized. This town, however, need not coincide with the Congressional township; it may be greater or smaller in area.
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