North and East of the First Principal Meridian is a survey and land description in the northwest part of the U.S. state of Ohio.

Survey

In 1812, Congress authorized the

Surveyor General A surveyor general is an official responsible for government surveying in a specific country or territory. Historically, this would often have been a military appointment, but it is now more likely to be a civilian post. The following surveyor ge ...

to survey the northern and western border of Ohio “as soon as the consent of the Indians can be obtained.“ In 1817, the northern portion of the Ohio- Indiana border was surveyed and became known as the First Principal Meridian for lands surveyed in the northwest part of Ohio. Most of the lands in Ohio north of the line determined by the

Greenville Treaty The Treaty of Greenville, formally titled Treaty with the Wyandots, etc., was a 1795 treaty between the United States and indigenous nations of the Northwest Territory (now Midwestern United States), including the Wyandot and Delaware peoples, ...

in 1795 - Text of Treaty of Greenville Library of Congress and west of the line determined by the Treaty of Fort Industry in 1805 - Text of Treaty of Fort Industry Library of Congress had been ceded by

Indians Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

by 1818 and needed to be surveyed before they could be sold. Lands were surveyed into squares six mile (10 km) on a side called survey townships arranged in a checkerboard pattern, each subdivided into 36 one square mile sections, according to the methods of the Public Land Survey System. The

41st parallel north The 41st parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 41 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Europe, the Mediterranean Sea, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean. At this latitude the sun is vis ...

latitude became the base line. The townships were counted going north from the baseline in vertical rows called ranges. The ranges were counted from one in the west increasing to the east. The sections in each township were numbered in a boustrophedonical sequence according to the Act of May 18, 1796 The Congress Lands lying east of the meridian, north of the base line, and south of the border with the

Michigan Territory The Territory of Michigan was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 30, 1805, until January 26, 1837, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Michigan. Detroit w ...

at the time were surveyed in 1820-21.

Exclusions

Two military reserves ceded by the Treaty of Greenville of twelve miles square, and two miles square had previously been surveyed, and were not included in the survey. A number of tracts that Native Americans had gained by treaty or Congressional action had also previously been indiscriminately surveyed. At the time Michigan was admitted as a state, the northern boundary of Ohio was moved a few miles further north. These lands between the old and new boundary, called the

Toledo Strip The Toledo War (1835–36), also known as the Michigan–Ohio War or the Ohio–Michigan War, was an almost bloodless boundary dispute between the U.S. state of Ohio and the adjoining territory of Michigan over what is now known as the Toledo S ...

, retained their original Michigan Survey based on the

Michigan Meridian The Michigan meridian is the principal meridian (or north-south line) used as a reference in the Michigan Survey, the survey of the U.S. state of Michigan in the early 19th century. It is located at 84 degrees, 21 minutes and 53 seconds west long ...

and baseline.

Land Sales

The Act of March 3, 1819 established the Piqua Land District, with a Land Office in that town for sale of lands in this survey within of the state of Indiana. For lands in this survey more than from Indiana, a land office and land district were established at Delaware. The Piqua office was moved to ”Wapaughkoneta“, then, on March 3, 1835, to Lima, and finally, on March 3, 1843, - Text of Act of March 3, 1843 Library of Congress to a consolidated land district at

Upper Sandusky Upper Sandusky is a city and the county seat of Wyandot County, Ohio, United States, along the upper Sandusky River, which flows north to Sandusky Bay and Lake Erie. The city is approximately 59 mi (96 km) south of Toledo and 62 mi ...

. Sales were also conducted from the nation’s capital at the General Land Office. Local offices were eventually closed. The State of Ohio also eventually sold lands granted to them by the federal government, such as section 16 of each township, and the Maumee Road Lands.

Modern Time

The survey tract includes all, or parts of Paulding,

Defiance Defiance may refer to: Film, television and theatre * ''Defiance'' (1952 film), a Swedish drama film directed by Gustaf Molander * ''Defiance'' (1980 film), an American crime drama starring Jan-Michael Vincent * ''Defiance'' (2002 film), a ...

, Williams, Fulton, Henry, Putnam, Hancock, Wood,

Lucas Lucas or LUCAS may refer to: People * Lucas (surname) * Lucas (given name) Arts and entertainment * Luca Family Singers, also known as "lucas ligner en torsk" * ''Lucas'' (album) (2007), an album by Skeletons and the Kings of All Cities * ''L ...

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, Sandusky, Seneca, and Erie counties.

Notes

References