Oklahoma Land Descriptions
Have you ever wondered what all of those letters and numbers on your deed description mean? Or why most of the roads in Oklahoma are one mile apart? This is the first in a series of articles to familiarize you with the system by which we convey your most valuable commodity, your land.
In the late 1800’s government surveyors were commissioned to lay out the public lands (Oklahoma Territory) into a grid in preparation for sale or grant to the public. These grids were to be 6 miles square and were known as townships. They would be later divided into 36 smaller units, which are our modern day sections of 640 acres each. In most areas they were then divided into even smaller squares or Quarter Sections (160 acres). Iron posts were set at the corners of the townships and stones were placed at all of the section and quarter corners. Some of these stones can still be found today if the area is wooded or otherwise has not been disturbed.
The point of origin of these sections is known as the Initial Point. It is located on the current county line between Murray and Garvin Counties about a mile west of Davis. A large stone monument marked “IP” still stands today in the farmer’s field. The line running east-west from this point is known as the Base Line and a line running north-south from this point is known as the Indian Meridian. All lands were laid out on this grid except for the Panhandle, which was done at a later date and has it’s own Base Line and Meridian.
If you look at the legal description of your property and it reads something like Section 10, T2N-R20W of the Indian Meridian (or I.M. for short) this means that your land is in section number 10 of the township located 2 North of the Base Line and 20 west of the Indian Meridian. In other words, 12 miles (2 townships x 6 miles each) North and 120 miles (20 townships x 6 miles each) West from the initial point. So your land is located in Jackson County near Altus. The numbering of the sections within each township was also specified by the government starting at the northeast corner with Section 1 going west and south in a serpentine manner until you reach Section 36 at the southeast corner of the township.
While surveying these townships, the early surveyors were instructed to go Due North (magnetic). As they went north they would need to correct for the curvature of the earth or eventually all of the lines would converge to one common point (the North Pole). It was established that these corrections would take place every four townships (4 townships x 6 miles each) or 24 miles. These are known as the Standard Parallels or correction lines. The county roads as we know them today were built primarily along these section lines. If you drive north or south along one of these county roads every 24 miles you might come across a small offset or “jog” in the road. This is where the original surveyors corrected their surveys.
In the next article, I will discuss why sections don’t contain exactly 640 acres, or why your “80” only has 79 acres.
In the late 1800’s government surveyors were commissioned to lay out the public lands (Oklahoma Territory) into a grid in preparation for sale or grant to the public. These grids were to be 6 miles square and were known as townships. They would be later divided into 36 smaller units, which are our modern day sections of 640 acres each. In most areas they were then divided into even smaller squares or Quarter Sections (160 acres). Iron posts were set at the corners of the townships and stones were placed at all of the section and quarter corners. Some of these stones can still be found today if the area is wooded or otherwise has not been disturbed.
The point of origin of these sections is known as the Initial Point. It is located on the current county line between Murray and Garvin Counties about a mile west of Davis. A large stone monument marked “IP” still stands today in the farmer’s field. The line running east-west from this point is known as the Base Line and a line running north-south from this point is known as the Indian Meridian. All lands were laid out on this grid except for the Panhandle, which was done at a later date and has it’s own Base Line and Meridian.
If you look at the legal description of your property and it reads something like Section 10, T2N-R20W of the Indian Meridian (or I.M. for short) this means that your land is in section number 10 of the township located 2 North of the Base Line and 20 west of the Indian Meridian. In other words, 12 miles (2 townships x 6 miles each) North and 120 miles (20 townships x 6 miles each) West from the initial point. So your land is located in Jackson County near Altus. The numbering of the sections within each township was also specified by the government starting at the northeast corner with Section 1 going west and south in a serpentine manner until you reach Section 36 at the southeast corner of the township.
While surveying these townships, the early surveyors were instructed to go Due North (magnetic). As they went north they would need to correct for the curvature of the earth or eventually all of the lines would converge to one common point (the North Pole). It was established that these corrections would take place every four townships (4 townships x 6 miles each) or 24 miles. These are known as the Standard Parallels or correction lines. The county roads as we know them today were built primarily along these section lines. If you drive north or south along one of these county roads every 24 miles you might come across a small offset or “jog” in the road. This is where the original surveyors corrected their surveys.
In the next article, I will discuss why sections don’t contain exactly 640 acres, or why your “80” only has 79 acres.
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