Broadcast Date: 17 June 2026

Presented by J. H. Fonkert, CG

Land was the great magnet for settlement of the Midwest and Great Plains. American and European settlers purchased land from the U.S. government, or from states, railroads, or earlier private citizens who earlier received government land. The Public Land Survey System created a sort of rural address system that made possible orderly settlement of public lands west of the Appalachians. This webinar will make sense of meridians and baselines, townships and ranges, and sections that are the key to pinpointing the location of your ancestor’s land on modern maps.

Handout: Public Land Survey Basics