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Blanchester Area Historical Society
Old Survey/Deed Measurements.
Old Survey/Deed Measurements.
OLD SURVEY/DEED MEASUREMENTS.
If you've ever looked at old deeds you've come across some measurement terms that are not too familiar to most people who aren't surveyors. These include Chains, Links, Poles and Rods. Here's a brief explanation of what these terms mean and why they are the lengths they are.
ACRES. The standard unit of measuring land in the United States is the ACRE. An ACRE is equal to 43,560 square feet (Sq. Ft.) of area. There are exactly 640 Acres in one square mile.
CHAINS. Old surveys were often measured using a Surveyors Chain. These were literally chains made up of 100 links. Each CHAIN was 66 feet long. Each LINK was 0.666 of a foot...or 7.92" To convert the distances on a plat measured in CHAINS (abbreviate Ch) simply multiply the distance in CHAINS by 66.
Ok, so why is a CHAIN 66 feet long? Let's go back to ACRES. An ACRE is equal to 10 square chains ( 66 x 66 x 10 = 43560 Sq. Ft.). That's easy to remember.
POLE,ROD,PERCH. These are all names for another common unit of measurement. A POLE is also known as a ROD and sometimes called a PERCH on old surveys. We'll call it a POLE for this post.
The POLE was exactly what it sounds like; a wood pole which was 16.5 feet long. To convert the distances on a plat measured in POLES (abbreviated P) you must multiply the distance in POLES by 16.5.
So how did they come up with a weird length like 16.5 feet? It is based on an common subdivision of a CHAIN. There are 4 POLES in a CHAIN. 16.5 x 4 = 66, one CHAIN.
160 square POLES make an acre (16.5 x 16.5 x 160 = 43,560 Sq. Ft.)
So the next time you're looking at an old deed or land record you'll at least have an idea of the distances that were recorded.
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