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| In 1785 the Continental Congress adopted legislation
that laid down the system for surveying the lands of the West. A public
land survey divided and subdivided the United States into squares that could
then be mapped and sold. This grid system covers the entire United States,
except for the original 13 states, and is still used today to specify locations.
This system is commonly called Township and Range. |
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While the West is a jumble of different independent grids, Oregon and
Washington are both entirely on one grid. The starting point for this grid
is the intersection of the Willamette Meridian and the Base Line, just west
of Portland, Oregon.
Take a look at Public Land Surveys
meridians and base lines across the United States. |
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Township is the measure of units north or south of the base line.
Range is the measure of units east or west of the meridian. Each
unit is six miles.
For example, here the city of Enumclaw is in Township 20 North, Range
6 East (or T. 20 N., R. 6 E. for short).
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The word township is a measure of units north or south of the
baseline, but it is also the term for each square on the grid. Each township
is 6 miles by 6 miles. The township is further divided into 36 sections,
each a single square mile. As you can see, sections are numbered in way
that can be confusing. Section 1 is in the northeast corner of the township
and the digits run in a zig-zag pattern down to the southeast corner.
For example, if this is the same township that Enumclaw occupies, then
the dark square at left is Section 29, Township 20 North, Range 6 East
(Sec. 29, T. 20 N., R.6.E.).
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| With the instruments available in the 19th century, the survey was unable to
create a perfect grid pattern, especially in the mountains. Therefore the pattern
is actually a little messy. |
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| Even today roads, property and administrative boundaries
follow the lines of townships and sections. Notice on this map of Omak that
the lines do not match up across the river. Irregularities like this are
common, especially in difficult terrain where imprecise equipment and methods
often resulted in inaccurate measurements. |
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Terms:
Base Line: The horizontal line where the survey began.
Meridian: The vertical line where the survey began. Washington and Oregon
are on the Willamette Meridian.
Range: The measure of township squares east or west of the meridian.
Section: A square mile numbered between 1 and 36 containing 640 acres.
Township: A six by six mile square containing 23,040 acres divided
into 36 sections. Also used for the measure of township squares north
or south of the base line.
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| Text is based on Surveying
our Public Lands, Since 1785 published by the Bureau of Land Management
in 1988. Map of Omak from the Washington State Public Lands Quadrangle,
1:100,000 Scale Planimetric Map series, Omak 1993 sheet by the Washington
Dept. of Natural Resources. |
