Plat of the Seven Ranges

<p>This 1796 survey shows the seven ranges of Ohio, the first subdivision of land completed according to the Confederation Congress’s Land Ordinance of 1785. The townships are located on the eastern border of what would later become the state of Ohio. The Land Ordinance of 1785 ruled that western land was to be divided into townships “six miles square, by lines running due north and south and others crossing these at right angles.” After the survey was completed, land was to be sold at public auction, providing revenue for the Confederation Congress. This map shows the result of the first and only public auction held for this land, with dotted horizontal lines showing the tracts which were sold at auction and tracts with a diagonal line reserved for the United States government. Many of the sales were later forfeited for lack of payment.</p>