Have you ever wondered why some county roads seem to jog or kink every few miles, breaking the otherwise straight lines of the landscape? The answer lies in the legacy of the Jeffersonian Grid—a land survey system introduced in the late 1700s by Thomas Jefferson. This system was designed to bring order to the vast territories of the young United States by dividing land into precise, 6-mile-square townships, each further split into 36 one-mile-square sections. On paper, it was a model of rational planning.
However, the Earth’s curvature posed a challenge to this
geometric ideal. As surveyors extended section lines across great distances,
they encountered convergence errors—subtle misalignments caused by the globe’s
roundness. To correct these discrepancies and keep the grid system intact,
surveyors made periodic adjustments. In practice, these corrections resulted in
noticeable features: a 20-foot jog in a county road, a misaligned intersection,
or a fence line that doesn’t quite match the plat map.
These quirks are more than historical curiosities; they are
the visible marks of a grand experiment in land management. For field crews,
drafters, and designers, understanding the origins of these grid corrections is
essential. It explains why certain roads bend unexpectedly or why property
boundaries sometimes defy logic. The Jeffersonian Grid’s influence remains
embedded in the American landscape, reminding us that even the most carefully
planned systems must adapt to the realities of the natural world.
Knowing the story behind these jogs and kinks not only
solves a geographic mystery—it connects us to the ingenuity and challenges
faced by early American surveyors, and to the enduring impact of Jefferson’s
vision for the nation’s land.
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| Example of one of the little country road quirks. |
