Thence Southerly to the place of beginning containing fifteen rods of ground be the same more or less. Thence Easterly three rods to the west line of the highway.

Thence northerly five rods to a stake and stones. Thence Westerly three rods to a stake and stones. Often the property owners will be mentioned who bound the land being described.Īn example of what might be found in a metes and bounds deed follows:īeginning at a stake and stones about forty feet from the center of the brook that runs across the road South westerly from the dwelling house of the late Arnold Leonard deceased now occupied by the widow Phrelove Leonard and in the west line of the highway leading by the dwelling house now occupied by the widow Phrelove Leonard. The corners will generally be a physical feature. This is followed by directions and measurement which may be written in a variety of ways, indicating a line leading to the next corner. In a metes and bounds land description, there is a starting point which is always at a corner. Common terms might be the name of a tree, creek, owners of land bordering the property and even piles of rocks. Therefore, when land is surveyed in this manner, the results can be quite interesting. 'Bounds' refers to the naming of physical features in defining the boundaries of the land. Link: 7.92 inches perch/pole: 16.5 feet or 1/4 chain or 25 links or 198 inches rod: 16.5 feet chain: 66 feet 4 rods or 100 links furlong: 664 feet Bounds For example the following terms were common when doing a metes and bounds survey:

Various forms of measurement were used to determine distance.

To find the direction, a compass was used indicating north, south, east, west as well as the degree of direction between 0 and 90. The word 'metes' is defined as the direction and distance of a line the line forming the boundary of the property. States which used this form of surveying were the thirteen original colonies (Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia) as well as the state land states Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Texas, Tennessee, Vermont, West Virginia and parts of Ohio. The system is still in existence today for land which was acquired before the present system of surveying land was adopted. Prior to the Revolutionary War, when land was surveyed, the “metes and bounds” system was used to define boundaries.

Metes and bounds vs township and range