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1785 - The Public Land Survey System (Plss)

American Period Maps

Adopted by the United States Congress of Confederation on May 20, 1785, the Land Ordinance was established to provide a means by which the land west of the Appalachian Mountains, north of the Ohio River and East of the Mississippi River could be sold and settled. This article describes the Public Land Survey System (PLSS), a way of subdividing and describing all public domain lands in the United States. Regulated by the U.S. Department of the Interior, the PLSS divides the lands owned by the Federal government into 6-miles square townships and is included in the National Atlas. Townships are …