Seven Ranges Boundary Marker - U.S. Historic Survey Stones and Monuments on Waymarking.com

Land Ordinance of 1785
the Beginning of the Public Land Survey System
and the Plat of the Seven Ranges of Townships


The standard surveying method in colonial America was called Metes and Bounds. This was a primitive surveying system and needed to be replaced. After our revolutionary war, the Continental Congress established a better surveying system to be implemented in its frontier wilderness lands, the so called Northwest Territory.
In time, the new Public Land Survey System was used in these states, Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. The first application of this new system was in what is now eastern Ohio and is known as Seven Ranges.


The Seven Ranges was the first area to be surveyed by the American government as part of the Northwest Territory.

Thomas Hutchins, the geographer of the United States, carried out the Seven Ranges survey according to the guidelines provided in the Land Ordinance of 1785. Hutchins began his survey work where the eastern boundary of the Northwest Territory met the Ohio River, at modern-day East Liverpool, Ohio. This starting point was known as the "Point of Beginning." Each range was made up of a vertical row of townships. The surveyors plotted a total of eight lines, each six miles apart, in this first survey. The end result was seven north-to-south rows or "ranges" of townships open for settlement. Hutchins died before completing all of the survey work, but the government continued the process after his death.

The American government hoped to use the profits from the land sales in the Seven Ranges to pay off debts from the American Revolution. However, land sales proceeded at a very slow pace. There were also problems with squatters who lived on the land illegally and Native Americans who felt threatened by encroachment on their lands. The American government soon began to sell large tracts of land to investors and speculators and left them with the task of finding individual buyers. The government's first large land sale was to the Ohio Company of Associates, whose land claim was located southwest of the Seven Ranges.


CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE!!!!
Special thanks goes out to:
Bill Farber, Local Historian who first told me about the marker.
Buckeyealum, Local Geocacher/Waymarker who scouted the marker.

Monumentation Type: Stone post Monument Category: Cadastral Survey marker Explain Non-Public access: This marker is just 200 feet from the road and is property of the United States Goverment but is located along the property of a private residence. (Just 100 feet from the house) The best and easiest access is with permisson of this home owner. He is very friendly and prefers to be notified when anyone is going to visit the marker. Historical significance: See Above Description. Monument Website: [Web Link] County: This is the boundary of Carol, Stark and Tuscarawas Counties in Ohio USGS Quad: http://www.mytopo.com/maps.cfm?mtlat=40.6506&mtlon=-81.33828&z=12 Approximate date of monument: 01/01/1785 Monumentation Type (if other): Not listed Monument Category (if other): Not listed Accessible to general public: Not Listed NGS PID: Not listed Other Coordinates: Not Listed Other Coordinates details: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
1. A closeup photo of the monument is required.
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2. A 'distant' photo including the monument in the view is highly recommended. Include the compass direction you faced when you took the picture.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   08/27/2017 buffalohiker visited it 10/25/2008 buckeyealum visited it

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