Leslie Liddiard lliddiard@nc.rr.com Date: Tuesday, April 17, 2001 6:48 PM Subject: [OKROOTS] RE: Indian Meridiam ~~~ ["Could someone tell me if the Indian Meridian is an imaginary line or real?"] *** First, if the land had not been surveyed, the property could still be described by metes and bounds; however, the description would probably not be so accurate. The government survey, or rectangular survey as it is sometimes called, was adopted early in our history by Congress and is used to a large degree outside the original thirteen states. The system refers to a grid of north and south lines and east and west lines which are established in the Land Office in Washington. The north and south lines are called 'meridians,' and the east and west lines are called 'parallel.' The distances between those parallels and meridians are twenty-four miles in each direction and are called 'checks.' Division of the Check: Each check of twenty-four miles square is divided into sixteen townships of six miles square each. The Base Line: Certain of the parallels are designated as 'base lines,' running east and west. These base lines, running along the parallels, vary among the states; for example, the State of Wisconsin employs a base line which is the sourthern boundary of the state. Oklahoma, on the other hand, uses a line passing through two towns. Duncan and Sulphur; however, in the "panhandle" section, the base line is the boundary between the Texas and Oklahoma "panhandles." Townships, or tiers as they are often called, are numbered and designated as being either north or south of the base line. "T. 4 N." means that this particular township is four tiers or four townships north of the base line. All townships or tiers the same distance north of the base line are numbered the same, that is, "T. 4 N.," is applicable to townships or tiers south of the base line. The description, "T. 4 N.," is meaningless by itself. The thing that pinpoints the exact township or tier north or south of the base line is the range east or west of a principal meridian along which a particular township or tier is located. Principal Meridians: Just as certain parallels are designated as base lines, so certain of the meridians are disgnated as 'principal meridians.' Nebraska and Kansas, for example, use the sixth principal meridian which passes about one mile west of Solomon, Kansas. Washington and Oregon both use the "Williamette" meridian, and Idaho uses the "Boise" meridian. Information in regard to the principal meridians can be obtain from any local surveyor or abstractor. Just as the tiers or townships are numbered north or south of the base line, they are also numbered east or west of a principal meridian. The township rows east or west of the principal meridian are called 'ranges.' Each range in either an easterly or westerly direction from the principal; meridian is identified with a number. Thus, a township may be described as being T. 1 N., R. 1 W., which means that it is in the firt tier north of the base line and in the first range west of the principal meridian. An often puzzling question arises with regard to two base lines, one directly above the other. If one begins counting townships north from the southernmost base line, when does one begin to run into townships counted south from the northmost base line? The answer given by many is that the place where one leaves off counting south or north is by 'local custom.' For example, the New Mexico principal meridian runs north and south through that state and is intersected by a base line. Directly north of this New Mexico base line is a base line in Colorado which runs east and west from the border of Missouri to the Utah border and which intersects the sixth principal meridian running north from the northern border of Oklahoma through Kansas and Nebraska to the southern border of South Dakota. Assuming one is counting north from the base line in New Mexico, when does one meet southern tiers from the base line in Colorado? The answer is that the original surveys laid out sharply defined areas in blocks. These defined areas point out the meeting places of the extreme southern tiers and the extreme northern tiers extending from any base line. The Township: The township or tier north or south of the base line is numbered in the manner previously mentioned. If it is the sixth township north of the base line and the first town- ship east of the principal meridian, it will then be designated as T. 6 N., R. 1 E. or Twp. 6 N., R. 1 E. Either "T." or Twp." is correct for use in a description. A township consists of an area of thirty-six square miles. The thirty-six square miles of each township are divided into square mile tracts. These tracts are called 'sections,' and each section is numbered. The Section: To summarize, the check, an area 24 miles by 24 miles, is broken down into 16 townships each 6 miles by 6 miles, and they in turn are each broken down into 36 sections 1 mile by 1 mile. These sections, containing 640 acres, are each numbered. Thus, if our description referred to Section 8, T. 6 N., R. 1 E., it would be designated Sec. 8, T. 6 N., R. 1 E. How the section is reduced for descriptive purposes when a parcel of land less than 640 acres is being described: The section is halved and then quartered. Simply make a square, and divide it into four quarters. You have 4 quarter sections of 160 acres that can be further broken down into quarters, or into two equal parts, or three parts, etc. (Look at the 4 quarter sections of the square. The upper left quarter is called NW quarter, and the upper right quarter is called the NE quarter. The bottom half is divided into two equal quarters, and are called SW quarter, and SE Quarter respectively.) I hope this is clearer than mud <]:o) M. Davidson (some of the above info was taken from "Real Estate Principles and Practices", by Unger