SYSTEM

OF

RECTANGULAR SURVEYING

EMPLOYED IN SUBDIVIDING

THE PUBLIC LANDS OF THE UNITED STATES.

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INTRODUCTION.

THE rectangular system of surveying adopted by the United States in subdividing the public lands, in its present state of perfection, is the simplest and most beautiful that could be devised. It is believed no other government equals our own in the perfection of its system of public surveys.

A state when subdivided has the regularity and symmetry of a well-laid out city on a grand scale; the townships corresponding to the blocks and the sections and subdivisions to the lots, but with this difference in favor of the public surveys-the sections and townships are uniformly one and six miles square, bounded by lines conforming to the cardinal points.

Then there is the principal meridian and base line, crossing each other at right angles, which form the frame-work upon which the subsequent surveys are built, answering to the main streets of a city, from which the blocks are consecutively numbered; so that any one possessing a knowledge of the system, can determine the locality and relative position of a township or subdivision with as great facility and certainty as he can a block or lot in a well-planned town.

Imagine one vast city extending over 50,000 acres, surveyed in this manner, under the general supervision of one directing head, and we may have some just conception of the regularity and beauty of the government system of rectangular surveying. This perfection was not reached at once; the existing system is the result of many years' trial and change. The first government surveying was done in the State of Ohio, in 1796. The

seven ranges,” as they were called, being the first seven tiers of townships west of the Ohio river, were first surveyed. The land department was at that time under the direction of the

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Secretary of the Treasury,* Hon. Albert Galatin, and the work was executed under the immediate supervision of Rufus Putnam, the first Surveyor-General. The townships in these seven ranges. commence respectively with number one on the river and number north. The present mode of reckoning townships and ranges was not adopted until a recent date.

The convergency of the meridians was soon found to be a source of serious difficulty where long range lines were projected. Several plans were tried to overcome this difficulty, resulting finally in adopting the "correction parallels.” Parallels are now required to be run every five townships or thirty miles north or south of the base line.

Improvement has been gradual and slow; modifications have gone on step by step, until the present symmetrical and perfect system has been attained. We may now, therefore, safely venture to put forth a Hand-Book on this subject, feeling confident that the facilities thereby for the first time afforded the general public for becoming acquainted with the system of government surveying, will promote the public interest, and be appreciated by all who are interested in the subjects treated of.

* The General Land Office was organized as a distinct bureau of the Treasury Department by act of Congress, approved April 25th, 1812.