Page:History of Richland County, Ohio.djvu/232

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��HISTOEY OF RICHLAND COUNTY

��CHAPTER XXII.

THE SURVEYORS.

Ordinance for the Survey of the Northwest Territory — Ranges — Townships — James Hedges, Maxfield AND William Ludlow and Jonathan Cox — Descriptions of the Surveyors' Field Notes, etc.

��How canst thou walk these fieldf them for thy feet?

��and woods? Who measured

��THE advance of settlements into the North, w^est Territoiy forced Congi-ess at an early day to prepare for the survey of the lands. In May, 1785, that body passed an ordinance pre- scribing the mode of such a survey. In 1787, the Territory was accepted by the General Gov- ernment, and Gen. St. Clair was appointed Governor in October, and soon after came to Marietta, to perform the functions of his office.

The ordinance prescribing the mode of the survey of the lands northwest of the Ohio River, stipulated that a corps of surveyors — one from each State — should be appointed by Congress, and placed under Thomas Hutch- ins, Geographer of the United States. This corps of engineers was to divide the Territory into townships, each six miles square, by run- ning lines due north and south, and crossing these by other lines running due east and west, the squares thus formed to constitute the town- ships. This was to be the rule over the entire Territory as far as practicable. It will be ob- served, however, that it was not followed in many parts of Ohio, the Western Reserve being surveyed into townships five miles square.

The point of beginning the survey was at the Ohio River, at a place due north from the west- ern termination of the southern boundary of Pennsylvania. From this point lines were run north and west, extending through the Terri- tory. The townships, whole or fractional, were to be numbered from south to north, from a certain base line. What that line is in the sur-

��vey of Richland County, Mr. John Newman, the present Surveyor, ssljs he cannot determine. It is some irregular line, as the numbers of the townships diflTer very materially. The ranges were numbered progressively westward. Had the same base line been used for all ranges, the townships would have all had the same number in corresponding ranges, as they pro- gressed from east to west.

After the county was surveyed into townships, these were to be divided into thirty -six sections, of 160 acres each, each township having 640 acres. Since the survey was first made, the sections have been divided into quarters, eighths and sometimes sixteenths.

The first range of townships in Richland, as originally created, was range numbered six- teen. This included the townships of Hanover, Green, Vermillion, Montgomery and Orange. These were numbered 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23. The next range, 17, included — following the numbers, as the townships were then not named — Nos. 21, 22, 23, 24 and 25. Range 18 in- cludes Nos. 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23; Range 19 contains also the same numbered towniships. The three ranges, 16, 18 and 19, were evi- dently numbered from the same base, as their numbers are all the same. Range 20 includes Townships Nos. 18, 19, 20, 21 and 22.

The county was surveyed in 1807, by James Hedges, Jonathan Cox and Maxfield Ludlow. Gen. Hedges was a citizen of Virginia, and was a Deputy United States Surveyor under Mr. Hutchins. He was born in Ohio County, Virginia, in a family of eleven children — nine brothers and two sisters. His parents were

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