A General Land Office diagram showing the theoretical sectioning of a standard survey township.

The Land Ordinance of 1785 was adopted by the United States Congress on May 20, 1785. Under the Articles of Confederation, Congress did not have the power to raise revenue by direct taxation of the inhabitants of the United States. Therefore, the immediate goal of the ordinance was to raise money through the sale of land in the largely unmapped territory west of the original colonies acquired from Britain at the end of the Revolutionary War. Download high resolution version (694x751, 70 KB) SOURCE: http://www. ... Download high resolution version (694x751, 70 KB) SOURCE: http://www. ... The General Land Office, a former agency of the United States government, was created in 1812 to take over functions previously conducted by the United States Department of the Treasury relating to the public domain. ... Survey township, sometimes called Congressional township, as used by the United States Public Land Survey System, refers to a square unit of land, that is nominally six (U.S. Survey) miles (~9. ... The Congress of the Confederation or the United States in Congress Assembled was a body of representatives appointed by the legislatures of the United States from March 1, 1781 to March 4, 1789. ... is the 140th day of the year (141st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1785 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, commonly known as the Articles of Confederation, was the first governing document, or constitution, of the United States of America. ... This article is about military actions only. ...

In addition, the act provided for the political organization of these territories. The earlier Ordinance of 1784 called for the land west of the Appalachian Mountains, north of the Ohio River and east of the Mississippi River to be divided into ten separate states. However, it did not define the mechanism by which the land would become states, or how the territories would be governed or settled before they became states. The Ordinance of 1785, along with the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, were intended to address these political needs. The Appalachian Mountains are a vast system of mountains in eastern North America. ... View of Pittsburgh, the largest metropolitan area on the Ohio River, where the Allegheny River (left) and the Monongahela River (right) join at Point State Park to form the Ohio River Cincinnati, Ohio is a well known city along the Ohio River, historically known for its riverboats. ... For the river in Canada, see Mississippi River (Ontario). ... Northwest Territory (1787). ...

The 1785 ordinance laid the foundations of land policy in the United States of America until passage of the Homestead Act in 1862. The Land Ordinance established the basis for the Public Land Survey System. The initial surveying was performed by Thomas Hutchins. After he died in 1789, responsibility for surveying was transferred to the Surveyor General. Land was to be systematically surveyed into square townships, six miles (10 km) on a side. Each of these townships was sub-divided into thirty-six sections of one square mile (2.6 km²) or 640 acres. These sections could then be further subdivided for sale to settlers and land speculators. The Homestead Act was a United States Federal law that gave freehold title to 160 acres (one quarter section or about 65 hectares) of undeveloped land in the American West. ... The Public Land Survey System (PLSS) is a method used in the United States to survey and identify land parcels, particularly for titles and deeds of rural, wild or undeveloped land. ... Thomas Hutchins (born in 1730 - died in 1789) was a Military Engineer, Cartographer, Geographer and Surveyor. ... A Township in the United States refers to a small geographic area, ranging in size from 6 to 54 square miles (15. ... This article is about the unit of measure known as the acre. ...

The ordinance was also significant for establishing a mechanism for funding public education. Section 16 in each township was reserved for the maintenance of public schools. Many modern schools today still are located in section sixteen of their respective townships, although a great many of the school sections were sold to raise money for public education. In theory, the federal government also reserved sections 8, 11, 26 and 29 to compensate veterans of the Revolutionary War, but examination of property abstracts in Ohio indicates that this was not uniformly practiced. The Point of Beginning for the 1785 survey was where Ohio (as the easternmost part of the Northwest Territory), Pennsylvania and Virginia (now West Virginia) met, on the north shore of the Ohio River near East Liverpool, Ohio. There is a historical marker just north of the site, at the state line where Ohio Route 39 becomes Pennsylvania Route 68. Official language(s) English de facto Capital Columbus Largest city Columbus Largest metro area Greater Cleveland Area  Ranked 34th  - Total 44,825 sq mi (116,096 km²)  - Width 220 miles (355 km)  - Length 220 miles (355 km)  - % water 8. ... The Point of Beginning is a surveyors mark on the Ohio-Pennsylvania border, just east of East Liverpool, Ohio. ... Capital Harrisburg Largest city Philadelphia Largest metro area Delaware Valley Area  Ranked 33rd  - Total 46,055 sq mi (119,283 km²)  - Width 280 miles (455 km)  - Length 160 miles (255 km)  - % water 2. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... Official language(s) English Capital Charleston Largest city Charleston Largest metro area Charleston metro area Area  Ranked 41st  - Total 24,244 sq mi (62,809 km²)  - Width 130 miles (210 km)  - Length 240 miles (385 km)  - % water 0. ... View of Pittsburgh, the largest metropolitan area on the Ohio River, where the Allegheny River (left) and the Monongahela River (right) join at Point State Park to form the Ohio River Cincinnati, Ohio is a well known city along the Ohio River, historically known for its riverboats. ... East Liverpool from the air, looking south. ...

See also

• Northwest Ordinance
• Public Land Survey System
• Northwest Territory

Northwest Territory (1787). ... The Public Land Survey System (PLSS) is a method used in the United States to survey and identify land parcels, particularly for titles and deeds of rural, wild or undeveloped land. ... The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest and the Territory North West of the Ohio, was a governmental region within the early United States. ...

External links

• Library of Congress - Ordinance Text
• Indiana Historical Bureau - Ordinance Text
• Ohio History Central - Land Ordinance of 1785
• Bureau of Land Management - Principal Meridians and Base Lines Map