This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/an/2V.2ADE/1358.1 Message Board Post: In order to help understand Section/Township/Range land descriptions, go to http://www.rootsweb.com/~armarion. Click on "Maps of the County." Click on "explanation" (in green). [Although this is a Marion Co AR site, the information therein applies to all lands in Public Domain states.] Townships run north and south with the lower numbers being to the south. Ranges run east and west with the lower numbers being to the east. Sections are the little squares within the larger squares created by the intersecting of each Township and Range. Land in N Central AR was applied for in more than just the Harrison Land Office. Batesville was another land office. Go to http://www.glorecords.blm.gov. This is a searchable site for land records held by the Government Land Office of the Bureau of Land Management. The records will tell you which county the land was in *at the time of the application.* County lines have changed and new counties have been created from existing ones over the years. The land may have been applied for in Izard Co, but is today located in Stone Co, for example. Sounds confusing, I realize, but once you get the hang of it, it's a breeze to locate original land ownership. Mysty shakerag@mtnhome.com