Catlin History Online |
|||||
|
 |
Describing Lands In the initial sale of lands by the federal and state governments, parcels are described by specifying the the township, the range, the section and the portion of the section. The township and range numbers describe a congressional township. Portions of four congressional townships make up present-day Catlin Township. They are Township 18 North Range 12 West (T18N R12W), Township 19 North Range 12 West (T19N R12W), Township 18 North Range 13 West (T18N R13W) and Township 19 North Range 13 West (T19N R13W). There are 36 sections (numbered 1-36) in each congressional township, each with approximately 640 acres. Within each section, parcels are described with letters and numbers according to their locations. The descriptions used in this database are slightly different than you would find in county courthouse deed books. This is because the fractions one-half and one-quarter do not translate well to a web browser. Here's how the parcels are described in this database: Full sections: If the entire section is purchased, the description is left blank.  
320-acre parcels: Half of a section, 320 acres, is described as E2 (east half), W2 (west half), N2 (north half) or S2 (south half).
160-acre parcels: A quarter section, 160 acres, is designated by the location within the section -- NE (the northeast one quarter), SE (the southeast one quarter), NW (the northwest one quarter) or SW (the southwest one quarter).  
80-acre parcels: A half of a quarter section, 80 acres, is described by specifying the half section within the quarter section. For example, N2 NE (the north half of the northeast one quarter). Or W2 SW (the west half of the southwest one quarter). 40-acre parcels: One sixteenth of a section, the smallest parcel sold, is described by specifying the quarter section within the quarter section. 
For example, NE NE (northeast one quarter of the northeast one quarter), NW SE (northwest one quarter of the southeast one quarter) or SE SW (the southeast one quarter of the southwest one quarter). To place these 40-acre parcels, sometimes it's easier to read the descriptions backwards. If the description is SW NW, we know that the parcel is going to be in the northwest one quarter of the section. Then we look again (SW NW) to know that the parcel is going to be the southwest one quarter of the northwest one quarter. If you get confused, just look at the section map. There's one for each of the 52 sections (or portions of sections) in present-day Catlin Township. The maps show each parcel sold, to whom it was sold and how many acres the parcel contained.
|
|
| |
|
|||||
|
|||||
|
|
