Understanding Section Number Property Descriptions
- Most properties outside the villages of Blue Mounds and Mount Horeb will be described using a section number description. The section number property description uses the Public Land Survey System. For a detailed discussion of the Public Land Survey System, please see https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/sites/default/files/topic/ForestManagement/PLSSTutorial.pdf.
- To summarize, each township in the State of Wisconsin has a number descriptor that includes a Township number and a Range number. The Township numbers tells you how many units north the specific township is from a starting point; the Range tells you how many units east (or west) the township is from that point; that starting point, or Point of Beginning, is Hazel Green, WI. Essentially, the Township and Range numbers are referencing a specific location on a large grid across the state.
For our area, the Township and Range numbers are as follows:
Blue Mounds: T06N R06E
Cross Plains: T07N R07
Perry: T05N R06E
Primrose: T05N R07E
Springdale: T06N R07E
Vermont: T07N R06E
So, the Township of Vermont is 7 units north and 6 units east of Hazel Green, WI.
Blue Mounds: T06N R06E
Cross Plains: T07N R07
Perry: T05N R06E
Primrose: T05N R07E
Springdale: T06N R07E
Vermont: T07N R06E
So, the Township of Vermont is 7 units north and 6 units east of Hazel Green, WI.
- Furthermore, each township is broken up into sections. Most townships in Wisconsin are six sections wide by six sections high, thus they contain 36 sections. A typical section in Wisconsin is one square mile, so a typical township contains 36 square miles. The sections are numbered 1 through 36, starting in the upper right corner and going “as the cow plows,” which means in an “s” pattern, back and forth, down the township.
- Most parcels of land are smaller than a section, so the sections are further divided into quarters, each of which contain 160 square miles. Thus, a typical township section contains 640 square miles (160 x 4 = 640). Each of those quarter sections can be further divided into quarters again, each containing 40 acres. You might see land descriptions that also describe half of a section or half of a quarter section. Anything smaller is usually described as a part (often written “pt”) of a quarter section.
- Once you know the township, section and area within the section that your property is located, you can look at the historical plat maps and in the tax records to find that property.