A land surveying professional is called a land surveyor. The blm or public land survey system plss map service represents township, range, section, special surveys and federal land ownership within oregon and washington. Each grid cell represents approximately 36 square miles the measurements were not always precise due to the instruments the surveyors were using, among other limitations. Public land survey townships are named by the township and range numbering system. Public land survey system jim mccavitt, pls bureau of land management introduction the united states public land survey system plss began with the land ordinance of 1785. Department of interior, bureau of land management blm publication date. The township and range lines are part of the congressional survey system, also known as the public land survey system. For example, the description above would be read the. The rectangular survey system is basically a grid of lines based upon a true meridian and. The public land survey system plss was established by the land ordinance of 1785, and the first nationwide official manual was distributed in 1855. As the first state formed out of the public domain, ohio was the social laboratory in which congress worked out not only the basic federal rectangular survey. To make it even worse, the system did admirably what it was designed to do, to allow the government.
Nov 18, 2011 originally established in 1785 by the land ordinance, after the revolutionary war, and further refined in 1851 by the general land office now, the bureau of land management, the public land survey system plss is still the primary legal definition of most property in the united states. The public land survey system plss part 2 lorraine a. Layers of geospatial data include orthoimagery, roads, grids, geographic names, elevation contours, hydrography, and other selected map features. This grid system is known as the public land survey system plss. The collection includes later plat maps, up to the year 2001, drawn from surveys conducted by the general land office and the bureau of land management. The public land survey system plss part 1 figure 1. The public lands are laid off, in the first place, into bodies of land of six miles square. Here you can access survey control finder for statewide geodetic control stations, plss corners, and cors data for wisconsin. The fifth principal meridian governs the surveys of all or part of six states shown in green. In 1785, the continental congress adopted an ordinance setting up a survey system for the public domain lands. Hover over the empty search box to see the format example. It is regulated by the bureau of land management blm. The ordinance provided for the systematic survey and monumentation of the federal lands into townships and sections. Today the bureau of land management maintains the survey as a way to accurately categorize large areas of the continental us.
Each township has a township number, which indicates its northsouth position of the base line, and a range number, which indicates its eastwest position of the meridian. Source data were received from all or some of the blm state offices of alaska. Review the original government field survey notes of tippecanoe county indiana for the public land survey system. This data includes township, range, section first division, and intersected. Congress enacted various public land laws to accomplish these disposals. This is the public land survey system foundation plssf website hosted by the national. The plss is the fundamental way that almost all of the states land was first systematically marked, divided, and described, and remains the basis for. The following is a list of charges for the public land survey office plso products and research services. The public land survey system study guide 4 of 34 the rectangular survey system is basically a grid of lines based upon a true meridian and is originated from an initial point. The land records search portal assists the user in locating, researching and verifying ownership, land use and authorizations on state land and water owned or managed by the state of alaska. Became a state, january 4, 1896 survey recordsstate officesalt lake city records from original 1855 to the present are in our plat room. Bureau of land management, oregon state office comments. Land surveying and plss topics state cartographers.
In this spirit, ive been working on the digitization of the basic public land survey system plss, or the cadastral map series for both portland and seattle from the 1850s as base maps for the hidden hydrology studies of both cities. Land surveying and plss topics state cartographers office. Displays townships, sections, and quarterquarter sections western states have quarterquarters mapped, central states do not. Public land survey system definition the public land survey system plss is a method used in the united states to locate and identify land, particularly for titles and deeds of farm or rural land. Public land surveys in indiana territory after governor harrison acquired the first treaty lands from the indians, the u. A history of the rectangular survey system bureau of land. The public land survey system modernization of the public. This dataset represents the gis version of the public land survey system including both rectangular and nonrectangular surveys. Ohio lands ohio occupies a unique place in the development of the public lands of the united states. A monument marking the site known as the beginning point of the u.
The public land survey system or plss is the public infrastructure that forms the basis for defining all property ownership and property rights throughout the county. Public land survey which served as the basis for the entire public land survey system. Public land survey system plss was established shortly after the revolutionary war as a way to describe and record parcels of land for legal purposes. No other state experienced so many different systems of original land survey. To begin the grid, the surveyor establishes an initial point from which to begin surveying. The revolutionary war had left the fledgling united. The website also provides access to the federal blm records system such as the alaska case retrieval enterprise system acres, master title plats, federal. Blm national public land survey system polygons national.
History of the public land survey system in minnesota and the united states. Stewardship model for the public land survey system fgdc. Became a state, january 4, 1896 survey recordsstate officesalt lake city. Public land survey system plss provide, for each of the 105 counties in kansas, high quality digital representations of basic kansas land divisions originally established primarily between the years of 1854 and 1877. Each section is about 1 mile square and contains 640 acres. The system has been in general use since the land ordinance of. Plss cadnsdi data set availability october 2019 the table below provides a link to the zipped. Also known as the rectangular survey system, it was created by the land ordinance of 1785 to survey land ceded to the united states by the treaty of paris in 1783, following the end of the american revolution. Other irregular town sites came into being, prior to subdivision surveys in the area, around trading posts and military establishments. The original public land survey plats were created during the first government land survey of the state. For use in land orders, executive orders, proclamations, federal register. How to display the blms public land survey system plss.
This section provides information on surveying and an overview of the public land survey system plss in wisconsin. Public land statistics 2018 bureau of land management. The user has the ability to search by section, township, and range, download selected areas andor print maps of the land survey information within. The public land survey system the public land survey system plss, regulated by the u. The public lands of the united states are ordinarily surveyed into rectangular tracts, bounded by lines conforming to the cardinal points. This data set represents the gis version of the public land survey system including both rectangular and nonrectangular surveys.
Vernon county has scanned and converted into digital format a significant volume of maps and information regularly used by professional land surveyors working in the county. Introduction and origins of the public land survey system. In this system, land is divided into pieces called townships that are generally 6 miles on a side and contain 36 sections. This data set is optimized for data publication and sharing rather than for specific production or operation and maintenance. According to renishaw plc, laser scanning is not only used in land surveying but is being adopted in more and more industries, since it gives detailed, accurate data, very quickly, and with fewer manpower requirements, saving companies costs. The public land survey system of the united states author. The public land survey system plss has a profound affect on how society operates in wisconsin. The public land survey system plss is a way of subdividing and describing land in most of the united states. Non public land states 18 eastern states, district of columbia, hawaii and texas utahceded by mexico in 1848, and became part of the united states. Blm national public land survey system polygons national geospatial data asset ngda other citation details. An example of a legal description using the plss is given below. Maptitude public land survey system plss data the land ordinance of 1785 established the public land survey system, also known as the township and range system.
Manz the public land survey system plss is a legal reference system designed to describe and facilitate the sale of land. Generally, land is divided into townships that are 36 square miles in size, each square mile being called a section. This data, which is the most uniform and complete snapshot of the landscape of the west, is a great resource. Department of the interior, bureau of land management, is a method used to subdivide and describe land parcels. An arpent is a french measurement of approximately 192 feet, and a square arpent also referred to as an arpent is about 0. Tutorial on the public land survey system descriptions. The user has the ability to search by section, township, and range, download selected areas andor print maps of the land survey information within a webbased map application. The publiciand survey system covers a11 of the continental united states except the original thirteen. What we refer to today as the public land survey system plss began with the land ordinance of 1785. Rectangular survey system is typically, and yet somewhat uniquely, a record of the american frontier spirit blended with the concept of government for the people. The public land survey system plss and other special surveys within, and. The town site boundaries are surveyed, closed, and tied in with the public land system. Plssfinder tm is a free application that enables users to download up to 9 townships of blmbased public land survey grid in an esri.
All logos are used with permission of the doi and blm. Often finding an appropriate base layer is vital to providing a solid foundation for this process. The public land survey system plss is the surveying method developed and used in the united states to plat, or divide, real property for sale and settling. Manual of instructions for the survey of the public lands. Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art and science of determining the terrestrial or threedimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them.
These points are usually on the surface of the earth, and they are often used to establish maps and boundaries for ownership, locations, such as. Cadastral surveyor, presents in this document a meticulous accounting of the vast story of public land surveying. This map is derived from gis geospatial information system data. The public land survey system plss, regulated by the u. Land management, is a method used to subdivide and. Pdf version modified from scans by national technical. Public land states thirty 30 states have been created out of the public domain.
Subdivision of sections california state polytechnic. The public land survey system plss is a way of subdividing and describing land in the united states. Manual of instructions for the survey of the public lands of. When the land was first surveyed in wisconsin, it was divided into a grid as shown in figure 1. The public land survey office plso is a section within the washington state department of natural resources that collects, preserves and indexes land survey records and issues permits for removing survey monuments.
In louisiana, parcels of land known as arpent sections or french arpent land grants also predate the plss, but are treated as plss sections. The general land office, predecessor to the present day bureau of land management blm, was established to oversee the surveying and disposal of the public lands. Sections were often divided into halfsections 320 acres, quarter. The author fully covers past, present, and proposed land survey systems, tracing the evolution of standard procedures of the united states public land system from 1785 through the most recent revision of the manual of instructions in 1973 to the newest proposals for change. The manual has guided the original surveys and resurveys of the public lands through the general land office, and since 1946 the bureau of land. Individual county databases are derived from data contained in plss. The public land survey system modernization of the. All lands in the public domain are subject to subdivision by this rectangular system of surveys, which is regulated by the u. Blm national public land survey system legend all layers and ables dynamic legend dynamic all layers layers.
Blm national public land survey system is the basis for federal land ownership. The method of survey that divides north dakota into an orderly array of rectangular parcels like these near northwood bottom left in grand forks county predates the u. State boundaries o plss ownship 1 plss section 2 plss intersected 3 description. Public land survey system plss the public land survey system plss is the surveying method used in the united states to divide real property. Cultural history the united states public land survey. Apr 08, 2020 this dataset represents the gis version of the public land survey system including both rectangular and nonrectangular surveys. The primary source for the data is cadastral survey records housed by the blm supplemented with local records and geographic control coordinates from states, counties as well as other federal agencies such as the usgs and usfs. Public land survey system townships do not correspond to political townships. All lands in the public domain are subject to subdivision by this rectangular system of surveys, which is regulated by the bureau of land management blm.
The office helps fulfill the states responsibility to provide a means to identify and preserve survey points that describe common land boundaries, and. The original government land survey that established and set monuments for the public land survey sections in vernon county was originally performed from 1839 thru 1852. This information consists of public land survey system plss tie sheets, plat of survey maps, plss government plat maps, 1967 corp of engineer maps for the kickapoo valley flood control project, 1896 amp 1931 plat book. The system is in use in all states except the first, vermont, texas, and hawaii. Our public land survey system is such an intricate part of our culture that any critique of it comes close to the condemnation of motherhood and apple pie.
Cadastral surveyor, presents in this document a meticulous accounting of the vast story of public land surveying and registration. Formerly managed by the general land office glo the plss is today regulated by the us department of the interior, bureau of land management blm. A brief history of the public land surveys in minnesota. Users should always check with the data steward for any updates to the dataset. Erected in 1881 by a joint commission of ohio and pennsylvania surveyors, the monument was declared a national historic landmark in 1966. Department of the interior, bureau of land management blm.
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