The first “standardized” public land surveys in the United States were made in Ohio in 1786 under an ordinance of the Continental Congress passed May 20, 1785. Though modified since its adoption, the act is still the basis for all surveys of United States public lands, except private land grants. This system provides for surveying and describing land by reference to Principal Meridians and Base Lines.

The need to provide for the orderly settlement of public land was recognized early on in American history. In 1785 the Congress of the Confederation enacted a Land Ordinance for the public lands northwest of the Ohio River. The law provided for the survey of public lands into Townships 36 square miles in size.

This Public Land Survey System (PLSS) is a legal reference system designed to ease the description, inventory and transfer of land. Land in 30 States of the USA was established by what is known as the “Rectangular Survey System”, which divided land into the familiar “Section” units, most approximately one mile square, or 640 acres.

Monuments were commonly placed at the corners of Sections and Townships, the mid-points of Section lines (Quarter Corners) and on Section lines at the intersection of bodies of water (Meander Corners). Original Public Land Survey (PLS) corners control distance and direction, but no Section of land is exactly square, or exactly 5,280 feet (one mile) on a side. To ensure the continuity and reliability of the PLS system, courts have ruled that the corners of the original public land survey are controlling and unchangeable.

The primary purpose of the PLS was to locate and define lands for sale to bring revenue into the Treasury of the Federal Government. In the fiscal year July 1, 1859 to June 30, 1860, $1,776,493 was generated by land sales in 14 States and 5 Territories.

The “Public Land Survey” corners, most perpetuated for many years, are still used today for surveying purposes and in descriptions of public and private boundary lines in written form. A great majority of land transactions in the 30 western-most states are described with this Section, Township, and Range system.