Message-ID: <002901c91364$296741a0$0301a8c0@Jensen> From: "Don Jensen" <dnjkenosha@wi.rr.com> Subject: Re: Plumb-Bobs to GPS at the Washington County Historical Society Date: Wed, 10 Sep 2008 11:42:06 -0500
While I can't speak to other states, in Wisconsin there seems always to
exist confusion between Township and Town.
In fact, many towns in Wisconsin erroneously call themselves townships,
and you even see things like XXX Township painted on their highway
department trucks.
A township is exactly as Carolyn Knight explains, based on the
rectangular survey system. It is a system of land description. A
township is 6 miles by 6 miles, or 36 square miles. Each square mile is
called a section, 640 acres, which can be subdivided into quarter and
half sections, each of which can be further subdivided to describe any
particular piece of property.
In Wisconsin, a town, on the other hand, is a non-incorporated
governmental entity. A certain number of towns, minus incorporated
municipalities, villages and cities, make up a county. The boundaries
of a Wisconsin town were politically established, by the legislature.
What makes it confusing is that SOMETIMES but NOT ALWAYS the political
boundaries of a town are coincidental with the boundaries of a township.
Look at a map and you will see that while meny towns and townships have
identical boundaries, many other towns consist of parts of several
townships.
The easiest way to distinguish between a Wisconsin town and a township
is that the former have names, such as the mentioned Town (not township)
of Lowell in Dodge County.
A township, however, is named by its relationship to a LSGS Meridian and
Baseline, e.g. T.1N - R.21E. (which happens to be coincidental with
the boundaries of the Town of Bristol in Kenosha County. However, the
Town of Somers, as another example, is comprised of all of T.2N - R.22E,
plus a part -- up to the Lake Michigan shoreline and minus part of the
city of Kenosha -- of the next adjoining township to the east, T-2N -
R.23E.
If it has a name, it is a Town, whose boundaries were established,
often, for political reasons.
If it is described by a Township/Range number and compass direction, it
is a Township.
Most people don't think much about their Township, other than how it is
used to describe the location and boundaries of the piece of land they
happen to own.
Usually people living in rural areas care mostly about a Town, the
particular governmental unit in which they live, particularly when the
town government has just raised taxes.
--don jensen
Kenosha History Center, BoD
----- Original Message -----
From: cnite51@aol.com
To: localhistory@listserve.uwec.edu
Cc: cnite51@aol.com
Sent: Wednesday, September 10, 2008 10:29 AM
Subject: Re: Plumb-Bobs to GPS at the Washington County Historical
Society
The boundaries of a township are not physical--no tree, or rock, or
river, like when George Washington did his surveying. It all comes from
the Land Survey Grid System (LSGS), which was created many years ago.
The LSGS used a Meridian and Base Line. For most states, they don't
have their own, and go off of the National one, but Michigan has its own
set. I used to work on a survey crew. However, like all surveys, the
markers are buried, and you need a survey description to know where to
look. They even buried under roads, and you'll see evidence if they've
been recently accessed (about a 4-6 inch hole in asphalt, etc. to be
able to set up a target over it). Calling and talking with the speakers
at the Washington County event would be able to give you more specific
info--dates when LSGS, etc.
Carolyn Knight
cnite51@aol.com
920-485-0668
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