>I have the homestead land description of an ancestor's brother and >am having trouble translating it into something I can use. > >Before I dive into the details, I'd like to make it clear that I am >quite familiar with the system used on the Canadian prairies, and >while the U.S. system shares a lot of similarities with the Canadian >system, it turns out that there are a number of differences which >are combining to stop me dead. > >The land description is Secn 1 - Rg 73W - Twp 129N - 5P.M. > >I've been able to locate the 5th Principal Meridian, and thus can >locate the 73rd Range west of it. But where is the baseline that >Township 129 is North of? I've spent a couple of hours searching >the web but can't find a description of how or where baselines on >the American central prairies were determined. Were they on lines >of latitude? Tips, hints, clues gratefully accepted. > >"Donna Hrynkiw" <Donna.Hrynkiw@kwantlen.ca> Hi Donna, I have never heard of a Township number of 129!! If you do a google search for range and township you will find more than you ever want to know. Another source for you would the United States Geological Survey web page. There you can obtain maps of both North & South Dakota which should help you locate the township in question!! Good Luck, rfs in omaha, ne Richard F Strait <rfstrait@juno.com>