Public Land Survey System


The rectangular survey system, now known as the Public Land Survey System (PLSS) was established by the Land Ordinance Act of 1785. It was this system that was used to identify and subsequently sell all government land via the Homestead Act. The largest named unit of land was called a Township, not to be confused with the political or city designation of a township. Each township consists of a square shape divided into 36 sections with six sections on a side. A section is one square mile or 640 acres. The 36 sections in a township are numbered in a switchback fashion as illustrated here. Since a section is one mile square, a township is six miles square. A section is further divided into four quadrants of 160 acres. The four quadrants are denoted NW, NE, SW, and SE. The quadrant became the basic unit of land to be given away by the Homestead Act.

The township below illustrates the location of the 160 acre Eide Homestead Quadrant.

Township 62N, Range 3E
6 5 4 3 2 1
7 8 9 10 11 12
18 17 16 15 14 13
19 20 21 22 23 24
30
29
NW NE
SW SE
28 27 26 25
31 32 33 34 35 36

The term township is further confused by its use in the township/range coordinate system. All survey systems require a reference point to make measurements. The PLSS establishes reference points as the intersection of a principle meridian and a base line. In the same way that a road map uses letters and numbers to designate squares within which a street is located, the PLSS uses townships numbers and range numbers to designate the square where a township resides. This double use of the word township is very confusing. In the first case, it is used to indicate a six mile by six mile square, and in the second case, it is used to designate a vertical number of a township square north or south of the base line. It is like a latitude. The range number designates the number of the township square west or east or the prime meridian. It is like a longitude.

The township located at Township 62N and Range 3E is located in the 62nd row of township squares above (north) of the baseline, and Range 3E is located in the 3rd township column to the right (east) of the prime meridian. The intersection is Township 62N, 3E.

Original Public Land Survey Plat Maps for Minnesota can be found of the Geographic Informaton System (GIS) of Minnesota.

http://www.gis.state.mn.us/GLO/Index.htm

This is also a very informative reference site on the historical survey process.