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No part of Warren County, except the few sections
west of the Great Miami, had the benefit of the beautiful and admirable
system of public land surveys now followed by the United States Government
The original surveys of both the Virginia Military District and the Miami
Purchase were defective, the former without any system whatever; uncertainty,
confusion |
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statute which required the breadth of each survey to be at
least one-third of its length in every part, unless the breadth was restricted
by mountains, water-courses or previous locations. In consequence of this
want of system, there were interferences and encroachments of one land entry
upon another, and great difficulty is to day experienced in tracing titles
in this district.
Symmes' Purchase was laid out in ranges, townships and sections somewhat
in the manner of the present system of Government surveys, but in a defective
manner. The sections were numbered in a different manner. The north and
south lines were run by the compass and not by the true meridian. All
the north and south section and township lines between the Miami River
vary from the meridian about five degrees, which was the variation of
the magnetic needle at the close of the last century.
Sections were numbered thus between the Miami Rivers:
| 36 |
30 |
24 |
18 |
12 |
6 |
| 35 |
29 |
23 |
17 |
11 |
5 |
| 34 |
28 |
22 |
16 |
10 |
4 |
| 33 |
27 |
21 |
15 |
9 |
3 |
| 32 |
26 |
20 |
14 |
8 |
2 |
| 31 |
25 |
19 |
13 |
7 |
1 |
West of the Great Miami, the lines were run and the sections
numbered according to the present system of surveying public lands.
The lands between the Miamis were not surveyed by the General Government,
but under the terms of the sale of the Miami Purchase, by the direction
and at the expense of Judge Symmes and his associates.
Sections were numbered thus west of the Great Miami:
| 6 |
5 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
| 7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
| 18 |
17 |
16 |
15 |
14 |
13 |
| 19 |
20 |
21 |
22 |
23 |
24 |
| 30 |
29 |
28 |
27 |
26 |
25 |
| 31 |
32 |
33 |
34 |
35 |
36 |
If the reader will carefully observe a recent map of Warren
County, drawn on a large scale, he cannot fail to notice the zig-zag
course of the section lines running east and west. The history of the
plan of survey adopted by Symnes gives a satisfactory explanation of
this feature of the map. For the most part, only the north and south
lines were run by the original surveyors, and stakes were planted for
the section corners, the subsequent purchasers being left to run the
east and west lines connecting the corners. At the commencement of the
survey, the principal surveyor was directed to run a line east and west
from one Miami Rivor to the other for a base line. This base line was
placed so far north as to avoid the most northern bend of the Ohio,
and is only seven miles south of the southern boundary of Deerfield
Township. Along this base line
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stakes were planted at the termination of every mile. The
assistant surveyors, of whom there was a considerable number, then ran north
and south lines by the compass from these stakes. Along these lines stakes
were also planted at the termination of every mile for section corners,
and the purchasers were left to complete the survey by running, at their
own expense, lines east and west to connect the section corners.
An examination of a large map of the county will show the further fact
that in the third or military range, the east-and-west lines do not present
the zigzag appearance to be seen in other ranges. It appears that, for
some reason, Judge Symmes directed his surveyors not
to place stakes at the termination of each mile in running the meridian
lines through this range. Gen. Jonathan Dayton after
ward employed Israel Ludlow to complete the survey of
this range.
The result of this imperfect method of survey was that hardly any section
in the whole purchase contains the proper quantity of land; and except
in the third range, hardly a section has two of its corners on the same
east-and-west line. Some sections are too large, and some too small. Section
No. 31, in the fourth range, adjoining on the north one of the four sections
on which Lebanon is laid out, instead of 640 acres, which it was intended
to contain, measures about 840 acres. Other sections fall far short of
the required amount of land. After these irregularities were found out
and complained of, and litigation had arisen concerning corners of sections,
Judge Symmes endeavored to correct the evil by carefully
re-measuring one of the meridians and setting up new stakes from which
purchasers were to determine their corners. But this would have altered
every original corner, and resulted in still greater confusion. The Supreme
Court of the State confirmed the old corners.
An act of Congress passed March 3, 1801, provided that the lands between
the Miami Rivers which Symmes had failed to pay for, and which lie between
the northern boundary of his patent and the seventh range, should be divided
into sections by the Surveyor General, and both northwardly and southwardly,
and eastwardly and westwardly lines should be run, but, in so doing, the
magnetic meridians run under the direction of Symmes, and the corners
established in his survey, were to be recognized, |