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Township & Range Overlays





Note: The Township & Range Overlays are accessed by selecting "Import" in the overlay menu. See the help topic for Overlays for further instructions.


Overlays are provided for the 29 Public Land Survey states.  These comprise all states admitted from 1803 (Ohio) onward, excepting Maine, which had been part of Massachusetts, and Texas, which retained ownership of its own public lands when admitted in 1845, and had its own survey system.
           
The township and range lines in these overlays are in black for every fifth line, and in blue for the others.  Thus, when viewed in transparent mode, every fifth line will appear, and in opaque mode, the entire pattern will be present.  At the opposite ends of each fifth line are numbers, in black, designating the township or range number.  There are gaps in the grid pattern in some of the earlier settled states, which provides a clue to which areas were already settled by the time the survey was made, as these areas were already surveyed by the tradition "Metes and Bounds" method.


         

  Township numbers run from north to south, and range numbers from east to west.  The numbers are referenced to "Base Lines" for the township numbers and to "Meridians" for the range numbers.  There are many different coordinate systems, and often two different systems apply in different part of the same state.  A location will usually specify to which coordinate system it applies by the name of the Meridian.

To aid the user in locating to which coordinate system a location is referenced, given below is a description of the system or systems for each state.  Examination of the overlay map will make clear which grids are designated by which names:

ALABAMA:
Northern Part:  Huntsville Meridian (est.1807).  All townships numbered south from base line, which is northern boundary of state.
Southern Part:  St. Stephens Meridian (est. 1805).  Base line is southern boundary, townships numbered north for most of area, south into Mobile area.

ARIZONA:
Most of state: Gila and Salt River Meridian (est. 1865).
The northeast corner of the state has a separate survey based on the Navajo Meridian.  In some areas, there is overlap, and locations might be referred either to the main US or the Navajo Survey.

ARKANSAS:
Fifth Principal Meridian (est. 1815)

CALIFORNIA:
Central and Northern Part:  Mt. Diablo Meridian (est. 1851)
Southern Part: San Bernardino Meridian (est. 1852)
Northwestern Corner: Humboldt Meridian (est. 1853)

COLORADO:
Most of state: 6th Principal Meridian (est. 1855) (ranges numbered 40-103)
Southeastern part: New Mexico Principal Meridian (est. 1855)
Small section in west: Ute Meridian (est. 1880)

FLORIDA:
Tallahassee Meridian. (est. 1824).  There is a one township northerly offset in the baseline from Range 17 west in the panhandle.

IDAHO:
Boise Meridian. (est. 1867)

ILLINOIS:
Most of state:  3rd Principal Meridian (est. 1805)
West of Illinois River and 3rd Principal Meridia:  4th Principal Meridian (est. 1815)

INDIANA:
Most of state:  3rd Principal Meridian (est. 1805)
Slice in southeast corner:  This section, lying east of an Indian Treaty line, is a westward extension of the Miami River Base survey in Ohio.  It was surveyed privately prior to 1796, and townships are numbered north from the Ohio River.

IOWA:
5th Principal Meridian (est. 1815)

KANSAS:
6th Principal Meridian (est. 1855)

LOUISIANA:
Most of state:  Louisiana Meridian (est. 1807)
East of Mississippi River:  St. Helena Meridian (est. 1819)

MICHIGAN:
Michigan Meridian (est. 1815)

MINNESOTA:
West and south: 5th Principal Meridian (est. 1815).  Extends north from Iowa.
East and north of Mississippi River:  4th Principal Meridian (est. 1815).  Extends west from Wisconsin.

MISSISSIPPI:
Central section:  Choctaw Meridian (est. 1821)
North and east section:  Chickasaw Meridian (est. 1833)
Southern section:  Washington Meridian (est. 1803) This section extends north for eight townships along the Mississippi River west of Range 5E.

MISSOURI:
5th Principal Meridian (est. 1815)

MONTANA:
(7th) Principal Meridian (est. 1867)

NEBRASKA:
6th Principal Meridian (est. 1855)

NEVADA:
Mt. Diablo Principal Meridian (est. 1851)

NEW MEXICO:
Most of state: New Mexico Principal Meridian
Section in northwest corner:  Prior to 1936, a separate survey existed based on the Navajo Meridian.  This is shown in a separate user overlay.

NORTH DAKOTA:
5th Principal Meridian (est. 1815)

OHIO:
Ohio was the "laboratory" for the design of the Public Land Survey system, and inherits a pattern of many different coordinate systems.  The Land Ordinance of 1785 began the survey, and initially private land companies did the surveying, with no standardization of method for numbering the townships.  In the sections bordering the Ohio River, the townships were numbered north from the river, so that the map shows each individual number for these.

The beginning of the survey was the "Seven Ranges" section, in the southeast part of the state.
Its numbering system was later extended west along the Ohio River to Virginia Military District, which was omitted from the survey.  This section, which had been surveyed by the traditional "Metes and Bounds" method starting in 1781, consisted of lands granted to Revolutionary War veterans.

The strip immediately to the west of the Virginia Military District is called the "Symmes Purchase" (the southern four ranges) and "Between the Miamis".  This section departs from the usual in that the "Ranges" extend north and south, and the "Townships" from west to east based on the Miami River.  The numbering for the one or two townships along the Ohio River here is designated "FR1" and "FR2", for "Front Range".

The section to the west of the Miami river is called "Miami River Base".  

The section in the center of the state with the diagonal northern boundary is the "US Military District", and was surveyed in five-mile square townships, instead of six-mile, which later became the standard.  The townships in this section are numbered regularly.

North of the US Military District, the numbering reverts irregularly again to the Ohio River base, except for two maverick townships in the north central part which are referred to a "Muskingum River Base".

The northeast corner of the state, the "Connecticut Reserve" was surveyed separately in five-mile townships.  Its numbering system extends into the "Firelands", the last five ranges (19-24) at the west end.  

The northwest part of the state follows a regular pattern based on the 1st Principal Meridian (est. 1819).  A narrow strip, slightly over one township wide, along the northern boundary with Michigan, is surveyed with reference to the Michigan Meridian.

OKLAHOMA:
Except for the Panhandle, reference to the Indian Meridian (est. 1870)
The Panhandle is based on the Cimarron Meridian (est. 1881).

OREGON:
Willamette Meridian (est. 1851)

SOUTH DAKOTA:
East of Missouri River: 5th Principal Meridian (est. 1815) Extends west from Minnesota.
West of Missouri River, northern part: Black Hills Meridian (est. 1878)
Strip west of Missouri River along south boundary: Sixth Principal Meridian (est. 1855). Extends north from Nebraska.

UTAH:
Most of state: Salt Lake Meridian (est. 1855)
Section in northeast corner: Unitah Meridian (est. 1875)

WASHINGTON:
Willamette Meridian (est. 1851)

WISCONSIN:
4th Principal Meridian (est. 1815)

WYOMING:
Most of state: 6th Principal Meridian (est. 1855)
Section in west central area: Wind River Meridian (est. 1875)