The United States Public Land Survey System (USPLSS) in Missouri is an extension of the system adopted by the United States Congress in 1785. Between 1815 and 1855, Missouri was surveyed into one mile squares called sections. Thirty-six sections in a block of land measuring six miles on each side is called a township. This created the basis for the transfer for the land from the United States Government to private owners and is the basis for all land transfers and ownership in the state today.
How are sections marked?The sections were originally marked with wood posts, rocks or mounds of earth. This record of the original survey called the General Land Office (GLO) survey is found in the original field notes and plats. Today, new permanent monuments are placed at the section and 1/4 section corners (halfway between section corners). These monuments may also be aluminum pipes, iron rods, concrete markers or iron pipes with caps stamped to identify the corner. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources, county surveyors and private surveyors will have set some of these monuments. They will have a witness post and sign set near the corner marker to identify the corner.
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