A government survey is one of the oldest systems practised in the United States. It is used by the government to plat or divide the real estate properties so that they could further be used for sale or for settlement purposes.
Government survey, also known as the Public Land Survey System, is a system of legal designations enacted by Congress that divides land into townships, or sections, that are each about six miles square and are then further subdivided into smaller sections that are each about 640 acres.
Government Survey helps the government to describe the land and is applicable to much of the land on U.S soil. The corners on the ground that are fixed by the government surveyor act as the proof of the boundary of that piece of land and then the field notes and plats in the respective order. Therefore unless one can present satisfactory proof that the corners were established on some other point than mentioned in the plats and notes, they are deemed to be conclusive evidence. This survey is also called a congressional survey when it is conducted by the federal government.
The survey, since the end of the Revolutionary War in the United States, has played a major role in not only helping settlers find a dwelling but also in generating huge revenue for the government during that time. The survey uses two methods to describe and plat the tracts of land. They are called the meets and bounds method, and the rectangular survey system method.
● Meets and Bound: It is the traditional system still being used in the states such as Delaware, New York, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Virginia, North Carolina and several other states. A lengthy process, Meets and Bounds process requires every individual plot of the land to be separately described and bound.
● The rectangular survey system: It is a newer process, introduced due to the time taking process of the meets and bound method. In this process, the land is divided into equal-sized townships, sections and fractions. The government has attempted to lay out a grid on the parts of land that use the rectangular survey system method. The townships of 6 miles square are related to lines established by the government. It encompasses four types of lines that are primarily used Primary Meridians, Baselines, Range Lines and Township Lines.
