The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1914-06-18

"rhe northwest quarter of the south
west quarter of the northeast quarter
and the southeast quarter of the south
west quarter of the northeast quarter,
OF sec. etc, may mean whole lot
to some people, but to those not active
ly engaged in the real estate business
it is as ineligible as so much San.
scrit or maybe just little bit less.
However, this is system that has
superseded the old one When the
United States, or the united colonies
rather, began to lay out lands for in
diyiduals and carve out counties and
township, at that time the records
read something like this: beginning
at live oak tree 100 yards from the
- River, thence running due north
three hundred yards to a boulder,
thence northeast to the mouth Of
Creek, thence west to-" and so on until
the land was surveyed and the bOun.
daries marked.
As can easily be imagined this was
somewhat complicated and was not at
all satisfactory, so when the present
system was introduced, the old one
was speedily abandoned.
But who was the father of this pres
ent system was asked by a layman
the other day Of our county surveyor.
The question was not only asked for
personal information but for the ben
eft of others who have never given
the matter a moments thought, and
in reply to the question he stated that
Thomas jefferson was the father of
the present system, and that the sys-
TEN perfected by him had never been
improved upon to this day.
Thomas Jefferson not only wrote
the Declaration of Independence, and
was the author of our monetary system
of dollars, dimes and cents replacing
the English systems Of pounds, shil-
lings, and pence, but he was the author
of the present system Of sectionizing
of public land surveys into townships
of SO sections each. This law was pass
ed May 90 1855, prescribing the mode
of the survey of the western terri
tory.
The first line was to run north and
south to begin on the Ohio river at
a point due north from the western
terminus of a line run as the south
boundary of Pennsylvania and the
first line east and west should begin
at the same point and extend through
the whole territory to the Mississip-
pi river across what is now the states
of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois.
In these initial surveys only the
township boundaries were run, but the
plals showed the &c sections numbered
| at the south east corner of the south
east corner of the township and run
ming from south to north in each tier
to sc in the northwest corner, the re-
gion embodied in these surveys was
a part of the present state of Ohio and
is known as the seven ranges
On the 18th of May 1896 a new
law was passed which applied to the
territory northwest of the river Ohio
and above the mouth of the Kentucky
river which also provided for the sub
division of the alternate townships by
running parallel lines at the end of
every two miles each way and by
marking a corner on each Of these
lines at the end of every mile and
that the sections should be numbered
from one to thirty-six as they are to-
day in the United States survey.
The act of congress of May 10, 1900
provided for the cutting of said sec
tions of the act Of May Is, 1896, into
one-half sections of 800 acres each.
These laws did not apply to the mill
tary grants or tracts in Ohio which
was to be divided into townships i've
miles square each, to be divided into
quarter townships of 1000 acres each,
which was to be granted for military
service 1t was the grant Of num-
Der of tracts granted to General Wash
ington that after his death and by rea-
son of settlement thereon brought his
name into a controversy as to whether
he did right in appropriating the title
teherto and his heirs dispossessing
the actual settlers who were occupy