Our System of Land Surveys

Our System of Land Surveys. . , The present system of Government Land Surveys called "The Rectangular System" was adopted by Congress on the 7th of May, 1785. It has been in use ever since and is the legal method of describing most land. , By this system, all distances and bearings are measured from two lines which are at right angles to each other, they are named "Principle Meridians' which run North and south and the "Base Lines" running east and west. The words "Boundary, State Line, and Border" should not be confused with the word "Base Line". They are not the same thing. The State Line between Kansas and Nebraska is also the actual Base Line but this is an exception rather than the rule., There are only four other places this occurs, they are: the borders of Base Lines between Washington and Oregon; Wisconsin and Illinois; Tennessee and Alabama; and the panhandle areas of Oklahoma and Texas. In all other instances, the Base Line lies someplace within the state. The states of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, Texas and the New England states were surveyed system used prior to 1785 in which a boundary was determined by a line beginning at a known landmark then following a line according to the compass needle, or by following the course of a river or other physical features. This is the main reason for the irregular shapes of those states where this system was used.