1/2 of a Riparian Government Lot

Is there any indication )such as occupation) of how the parties meant it when the description was first written, or the interpretation of their successors?

@bill93

Not that I am aware of at this time.

It also just dawned on me that another option would be a mean or weighted-mean bearing the east and west lines of the Government Lot?

How was this half created? By original patent or a Deed after patent?

If it was by Patent I would be inclined to run a line north from the midpoint of the south line of the Government Lot.

If it was by later Deed, first I would look to evidence of possession which might give a clue how the original parties interpreted the description on the ground or absent that State law may raise a presumption of a split by area.

Good luck.

Courts in some States (for example, Kansas) will have a presumption that the description should be interpreted within the context of the PLSS meaning equal areas does not necessarily control. 

@dave-karoly

I agree with you.  The only side with any certainty is the south line.  Area would be expected to change over time.

Posted by: @dave-karoly

If it was by Patent I would be inclined to run a line north from the midpoint of the south line of the Government Lot.

With North being the mean of the two sidelines?

@dmyhill

Right, north needs a local basis, so some method to achieve a local north direction such as mean of the bearings or a weighted mean.

@dave-karoly

It was patented as the whole Government Lot. Just for arguments sake, what would be anyone's opinion if it were a G.L. in the north tier of a township? What if it was half of a 1/4,1/4 of a normal section? Thanks!?ÿ

@guy-townes

You wonƒ??t find a citation in the Manual for dividing a Lot by aliquot methods. ?ÿIn the PLSS, by definition Lots are irregular parcels which cannot be described by aliquot descriptions (1/2, 1/4, etc).

1/2 of a regular quarter section would be determined by connecting the opposing mid-points.

Since a 1/2 of a Lot is an invalid description in the PLSS you would need to look at the evidence on the ground or in the creating document(s) to ascertain the intended location of the dividing line, as previous posters mention.

Goid luck!