John Martin Receives the First Land Patent Ever Issued
GLO Record of the Week for March 1, 2020
The First Land Patent
Fighting the War for Independence plunged the federal government into a budget deficit. We owed the foreign powers who financed the revolution, and we needed funds to literally build the infrastructure of a nation. But the Land Ordinance of 1785, stipulating how lands acquired from Great Britain in the Treaty of Paris (1783) would be measured and distributed, provided the basis for the government to convey lands into private ownership, and bolster the American economy at the same time.
The first land patent the United States issued to convey land, is shown here. It was issued to John Martin, March 4, 1788.
The first sentence of the patent states that the land was sold for $640 dollars. The patented land is described as lot numbered 20 in the Township 7 North, Range 4 West in Ohio. At $1 per acre, Martin obtained title to 640 acres!
March 4, 1788
At its establishment, the General Land Office was operating under the Board of Treasury to provide revenue to the U.S. government by selling land.
The Board of Treasury refers to the April 21, 1787 Act of Congress in the patent because that Act stipulates the price per acre and timeline of land title issuance. The Act also references the Land Ordinance of 1785.
For more information on the Land Ordinance of 1785 check out this story map and this video .
Ohio, The First Surveyed State
Ohio was the very first state to be surveyed using the Public Land Survey System (PLSS). The PLSS is the system that divides a majority of the land in the United States into a grid used for describing land. These land descriptions are used in a systematic way to patent, lease and find land parcels.
The Seven Ranges, indicated by the arrow on the image shown here, was the first area of land surveyed by the U.S. Government.
Within the Seven Ranges lies Township 7 North Range 4 West, where John Martin was issued the entirety of Section 20.
Let's take a closer look!
Township 7 North, Range 4 West
PLSS methods were refined and perfected during the westward expansion.
In one of the first township surveys of Ohio, Township 7 North Range 4 West, Section 1 is shown here at the southeast corner of the survey plat.
The section numbers first travel north to reach section 6 in the northeast corner, then jump south to the west of Section 1. The survey continues in that pattern. A simplified image is shown below.
An example of the Land Ordinance of 1785 section numbering.
However, later on, surveyors began at Section 1 in the northeast corner of the township, rather than the southeast (see image below).
An example of a standard township survey section numbering.
"Boustrophedon" is a word used to describe when text is written from right to left and from left to right in alternate lines. There are examples of this in ancient manuscripts and the PLSS!
The story map titled, "America's Original GIS," has more information on the Seven Ranges and the beginning of the PLSS. Check it out here !
As always, be sure to catch up on the GLO Record of the Week by visiting our shortlist here !
