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PLSSia lot numbering issue
The two photos below show the same area. You may need to click on them to get a larger view.
The first photo shows the southern limit of what could be surveyed based on the New York Indians (general name–several different groups, actually) signing over their lands to the U.S. in the 1850’s The second photo shows the lands immediately to the south being surveyed based on the Cherokee Indians signing over their Neutral Lands to the U.S. in 1865. The eastern edge of both transactions was the western border of Missouri.
In the first photo you can see that a narrow strip of land existed between the south line of Section 22 and the Indian Boundary that would be in Section 27. Thus Lot 1 is in Section 27 south of the southeast quarter of Section 22 and the extended east line of that southeast quarter. Lot 2 is in Section 27 south of the southwest quarter of Section 22 and the extended west line of that southwest quarter.
In the second photo you can see the vast majority of Section 27, except for the strip surveyed a dozen years prior and already known as Lot 1 and Lot 2. The remainder of the north half of the northeast quarter is now labeled Lot 1 and Lot 2. The remainder of the north half of the northwest quarter is now labeled Lot 3 and Lot 4.
Fortunately, the earlier Lot 1 and Lot 2 were purchased by the land owners directly north in Section 22. But, other simiar sections to the east and west had cases where the owner of the land to the south in those sections also purchased the earlier Lot 1 or Lot 2. When it came time to build a county road in the 1870’s the road was laid out to follow the property lines rather than the section line or the Indian Boundary line. For example, the road going east from the northeast corner of Section 27 goes one half-mile east, then drops the width of the earlier Lot 1 to the Indian Boundary and then goes east some distance before rising back to the section line to continue east. Similar jumps in the road occur to the west as well. The road crossing Section 27 is on the Indian Boundary. Due to the sections to the south being surveyed a dozen years later the line extending north from the East and West quarter corners must connect to the existing corner set a dozen years earlier. Thus, a “bend” normally occurs. This is sometimes visible on north/south roads where the road follows the section line incluing the bend.
The confusion is that Section 27 and its neighbors have two Lot 1’s and two Lot 2’s. Just for fun, consider the reality that different Special Instructions were in force for the earlier survey than for the later survey.
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