The question of military bounty lands having come up, here is part of The Intro to Ohio Land History, which I read tonight and which is pertinent. Anne http://www.ultranet.com/~deeds/ohio.htm With the conclusion of the Revolutionary War, Virginia and other states were asked to cede their western land claims to the fledgling government, which later used them to create the Northwest and Southwest Territories. In 1781 Virginia relinquished its claim to lands to the northwest of the Ohio River in exchange for being able to award bounty lands (land grants in lieu of payment for military service) in Ohio's "Virginia Military District" (see next). Connecticut made a similar arrangement and ceded its claims in exchange for granting lands in the "Western Reserve and Firelands". The Virginia Military District opened in 1784. Is was located between the Little Miami and Scioto Rivers in the south-central portion of the state. Virginia issued bounty land grants there until Ohio achieved statehood in 1803. Land in the Virginia Military District necessarily used the Virginia surveying system of metes and bounds. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -------------------------------------------- The Land Ordinance of 1796 was passed. It defined the surveying system to be used by all future public land surveys. In this system the townships are 6 miles square, composed of 36 one mile square sections, each of which may be subdivided into quarters or smaller. The numbering of the sections is serpentine, starting in the northeast corner of the township. Townships are identified as being north or south of a baseline and in a range east or west of a longitudinal meridian line. The Land Ordinance also created the Congressional Military Tract in the heart of Ohio. The survey system used was one of 5 mile square townships, and the minimum purchase was 1/4 township (about 4000 acres), much larger than the standard military bounty warrant of 160 acres. This had the effect of decreasing the value of the warrant and encouraging speculation in land warrants. The Ohio Land Office opened in 1800 and began selling land to individuals. Ohio became a state in 1803.