General Overview of the Rectangular Survey
In 1785, the Federal Government began using the rectangular survey system for the organization, division and sale of government-owned frontier lands. With little regard for the natural topography, land was rigidly divided into a graph paper-like grid.

"The public lands of the United States are surveyed in a uniform mode, ... by lines run by the cardinal points of the compass; the north and south lines coinciding with the true meridian, and the east and west lines intersecting them at right angles, giving to the tracts thus surveyed, the recangular form."<1>

In the rectangular survey system, the basic unit of land was called a "township." Each township was a square, six miles on each side. This was further subdivided into thirty-six sections each one mile square containing 640 acres. After 1796, each township was numbered with reference to a baseline and a principal meridian. Each township was was numbered in a specific sequence.

In most cases, land was sold in these regular units. The minimum size of these units changed over time according to law. These changes were made to boost land sales by making it easier for more people to purchase land, as many potential settlers complained they could not afford to by large tracts. For example, in 1800, the minimum amount which could be purchased was a half section (320 acres), later it was changed to 160 acres, then 80 acres. Due to rivers, lakes, and other natural features, land was also available in irregular parcels.

In 1800, the minimum amount which could be purchased was a half section (320 acres) at a minimum cost of $2.00 an acre. The purchaser was also required to pay the survey fee of $6.00 per section and 10 cents per acre when filing. The remainder of the amount due was payable in 4 equal annual installments. The first was within forty days.

In 1804, the law was amended to allow for the sale of quarter sections (160 acres) as the minimum. In 1816 payments changed to one fourth within two years and the remainder in 2 equal annual payments. An eight percent charge was levied on all payments made after due date. An eight percent discount was given for payment on or before due date.

By 1820, the minimum requirement for a land purchase was half quarter sections (80 acres) at a minimum cost of $1.25 per acre, though use of credit was abolished. Land purchased from the government was exempt from taxes for five years. These reductions opened up the land to individual farmers and business men of a lower income instead of the previously wealthy speculators and monopolizing conglomerates of the past.<2>

Land Sales and Surveying Techniques
Great pains were taken in surveying the land for sale. Chains, compasses, and markers were used to measure distance. Trees of each quarter were identified in the survey notes in order to confirm border lines. Evaluations of the quality of the land were also indicated. Each plat was given a number and recorded on the township map in the plat book. If those who had previously squatted on land could not afford to purchase the land, they were either driven off or had to make financial arrangements with the new owner. Land offices were set up to handle the sale of these lands and to handle the appropriate legal documents.

Once land was "improved," the selling price went up substantially. Improved land, in general, was considered to be that on which 15 to 20 acres had been cleared and a log house constructed.<3> As early as December, 1817, improved land in Brookville (Indiana) was fetching $8.00-$10.00 an acre. <4>

Although smaller and more affordable than the earlier requirements, selling lots at a minimum of eighty acres apiece, still created a landscape of relative isolation by separating people from one another by fairly large pieces of land.

After the initial land purchase from the government, owners could divide up their property into any size lots they wanted and sell them for whatever they could. However, the shape of these lots still seem to have retained the rectangular shape of the survey system. This tendency to extend the grid system can be seen both in farm layout in the country and lot layout in the towns.

Surveying in Indiana
Except for a relatively small sliver of land in southeast Indiana, known as "the gore", the land in Indiana was all layed out according to the rectangular survey. <5> All of the township lines are numbered from the base line and the range lines are numbered from the second principal meridian.

Notes

1. "General Instructions To His Deputies; By The Surveyor General of the United States, for the States of Ohio and Indiana, and the Territory of Michigan." Cincinnati: John H. Wood, 1833. as cited in Albert White, A History of the Rectangular Survey.

2. Barnhart, John D., Ph.D., Indiana From Frontier to Industrial Commonwealth, New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1954, pp. 223-226.

3. Lindley, Harlow, Indiana As Seen By Early Travelers. Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Bureau, 1916, p. 168.

4. Lindley, 231.

5. "Surveying in Indiana" Office of the Marion County Surveyor, Conner PrairieArchive, vertical file 8.87