5.1 The Five Principal Meridians Governing Mississippi Surveys

Why Mississippi has five meridians

The PLSS in Mississippi grew district by district as the United States acquired title: first from the British and Spanish claims around Natchez and Mobile, then through Choctaw and Chickasaw cessions from 1801 to 1832. The General Land Office (GLO) started a new initial point, principal meridian, and base line for each new district rather than extending an old grid across unsurveyed Indian country. The BLM's record of principal meridians gives these adoption dates and initial points:

Many unofficial sources give different dates, such as "Choctaw 1833" or "Chickasaw 1834." On an exam, use the BLM dates above.

Washington Meridian (1803)

• Why: The Act of March 3, 1803 organized the lands south of Tennessee and created the office of Surveyor of the lands south of Tennessee. Isaac Briggs was the first appointee, and surveys of the old Natchez District began.
• Initial point: on the 31st parallel (Ellicott's line, the Mississippi–Louisiana boundary) at 91°09′36″ W, in southwestern Mississippi. The base line is the 31st parallel, so Washington townships are numbered north from the state line. Ranges run east and west of the meridian. Natchez, for example, lies in townships numbered in the 7th tier north, west of the meridian.
• Area: the Natchez District of southwest Mississippi, including Adams, Wilkinson, Jefferson, Claiborne, Franklin, and Amite counties and parts of neighboring counties, roughly the land ceded or confirmed at Fort Adams (1801).
• Character: many British and Spanish private land claims were surveyed before or alongside the rectangular grid, so sections are often fractional and private claims carry section numbers above 36 (Section 5.3).
• Curiosity: Louisiana's St. Helena Meridian (1819) uses the same initial point coordinates.

St. Stephens Meridian (1805)

• Initial point: 30°59′51″ N, 88°01′20″ W, in northern Mobile County, Alabama, near Bucks. The initial point is Ellicott's Stone, the 1799 marker Andrew Ellicott set on his survey of the 31st parallel (Section 5.3). The meridian takes its name from St. Stephens, the old settlement upriver on the Tombigbee.
• Base line: the 31st parallel. Townships are numbered north of it in the interior and south of it in the coastal strip that was added after the Mobile District came under U.S. control. In Mississippi, ranges are numbered west of the meridian.
• Area in Mississippi: southeastern Mississippi and the Gulf Coast counties (Hancock, Harrison, Jackson), with the Pearl River roughly its western limit in the south. It covers land from the Mount Dexter cession (1805) and the coastal district.

Huntsville Meridian (1807)

• Initial point: 34°59′27″ N, 86°34′16″ W, near the Tennessee line north of Huntsville, Alabama. Townships are numbered south from its base line.
• Area in Mississippi: lands ceded by the Chickasaws in the Treaty of the Chickasaw Council House (September 20, 1816) that lie in Mississippi. Local histories describe that cession as forming the eastern parts of Tishomingo, Itawamba, Monroe, and Lowndes counties. Because the meridian is in Alabama, these Mississippi townships lie in ranges numbered west of the Huntsville Meridian.

Choctaw Meridian (1821)

• Why: the Treaty of Doak's Stand (October 18, 1820) ceded about 5.5 million acres of west-central Mississippi, the "New Purchase." The Choctaw Meridian was adopted in 1821 to survey it. The district later expanded over the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek (September 27, 1830) cession.
• Initial point: 31°52′32″ N, 90°14′41″ W, about 30 miles south-southwest of present-day Jackson. The base line runs east–west through that point, so townships are numbered north and south. Ranges run east and west; Jackson itself lies in low-numbered townships north of the base line, in the first ranges east.
• Area: the largest district in the state: central Mississippi, much of the Delta, and east-central Mississippi.

Chickasaw Meridian (1833)

• Why: the Treaty of Pontotoc Creek (October 20, 1832) ceded the Chickasaw lands of north Mississippi, to be surveyed and sold for the Chickasaws' benefit. The Chickasaw Meridian was adopted in 1833, and deputy surveyor John Bell directed the surveys from Pontotoc.
• Initial point: 35°01′58″ N, 89°14′47″ W, near the Tennessee line. Townships are numbered south from the base line; ranges run east and west of the meridian.
• Area: the northern tier of counties, including DeSoto, Marshall, Benton, Tippah, Alcorn, Tishomingo (except the Huntsville strip), Lafayette, Union, Lee, Pontotoc, Itawamba (west part), Panola, Tate, Tunica, and others north of the Choctaw cession line.
• School lands: because the Chickasaw lands were sold for the Chickasaws, sixteenth sections in the Chickasaw Cession were sold rather than reserved (Section 11.3).

Township and range numbering at a glance

Why the meridian must be named

The same township and range numbers recur in different districts. For example, a "Township 4 North, Range 3 West" exists under the Washington Meridian and under the Choctaw Meridian. Where a county lies across two districts, identical designations can appear in the same courthouse. A description that omits the meridian may be ambiguous, and the surveyor must use patents, GLO plats, the chain of title, and the county's section indexes to identify the right township. Good practice, followed in Rule 7.3 plats and in careful deeds, is to state the section, township, range, principal meridian, and county every time.

Where to find the original records

The BLM General Land Office Records site holds survey plats, field notes, and land patents for public-land states, including Mississippi. The Mississippi Secretary of State's Public Lands Division and county chancery clerks hold state copies, tract books, and local records. County surveyor record books (§ 19-27-5) hold later resurveys (Section 7.1).