Section 16 near Pedee
A school section with two pioneer claims inside it.
Section 16, Township 9 South, Range 6 West, Willamette Meridian, Polk County, Oregon · See the Surveyor’s Walk card
“Section 16 was set aside for schools. Why do two pioneer claims sit in the middle of it, and did the State get other land instead?”
Written by AI
Section 16, T. 9 S., R. 6 W., Willamette Meridian (Polk County): a school section under the 1848 reservation and the 1859 grant whose interior is occupied by Donation Land Claims No. 45 and No. 46 (No. 46 continues east into Section 15). Only survey-grid data and statute text are used here; everything else is listed as an open question.
What the record shows
BLM’s PLSS (CadNSDI) section layer returns Section 16 as a single polygon running along the north, west and south sides and wrapping around Donation Land Claim No. 45 and Donation Land Claim No. 46, each a separate first division cut out of the section; No. 46 continues east into Section 15.
Source: BLM National PLSS survey-grid data (CadNSDI), section layer: Section 16, T9S R6W (queried October 5, 2026; the drawing above is made from these coordinates)
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Record areas in the CadNSDI data: Donation Land Claim No. 46, 321.0 acres, extending east beyond Section 16 into Section 15; Donation Land Claim No. 45, 159.36 acres, within Section 16.
Source: BLM National PLSS survey-grid data (CadNSDI), claim layer: DC 45 and DC 46, T9S R6W (record areas as carried in BLM’s data: DC 46 “321.0 Acres”, DC 45 “159.36 Acres”; queried October 5, 2026; claim numbers repeat from township to township, so these are Claims No. 45 and No. 46 of this township)
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The center point of Section 16 lies outside the section polygon: a point query on the section layer returns nothing, and the intersected layer returns Donation Land Claim No. 46.
Source: BLM National PLSS survey-grid data (CadNSDI): point queries at the center of Section 16, T9S R6W (point at 123.427843° W, 44.788128° N; section layer empty, intersected layer DC 46; queried October 5, 2026)
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Act of August 14, 1848, ch. 177, § 20, 9 Stat. 323, 330: upon survey, sections numbered sixteen and thirty-six in each township of the Territory are reserved for the purpose of being applied to schools.
“Sec. 20. And be it further enacted, That when the lands in the said Territory shall be surveyed under the direction of the government of the United States, preparatory to bringing the same into market, sections numbered sixteen and thirty-six in each township in said Territory shall be, and the same is hereby, reserved for the purpose of being applied to schools in said Territory, and in the States and Territories hereafter to be erected out of the same.”
Source: Act of Aug. 14, 1848, ch. 177, § 20, 9 Stat. 323, 330
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Act of February 14, 1859, ch. 33, § 4 (First proposition), 11 Stat. 383: sections numbered sixteen and thirty-six in every township of public lands “shall be granted to said State for the use of schools”; Oregon accepted the propositions on June 3, 1859.
“First, That sections numbered sixteen and thirty-six in every township of public lands in said State, and where either of said sections, or any part thereof, has been sold or otherwise been disposed of, other lands equivalent thereto, and as contiguous as may be, shall be granted to said State for the use of schools.”
Source: Act of Feb. 14, 1859, ch. 33, § 4 (“First”), 11 Stat. 383
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Lieu clause of the same proposition: where either section or any part has been sold or otherwise disposed of, other lands equivalent thereto, and as contiguous as may be, shall be granted for the use of schools.
“other lands equivalent thereto, and as contiguous as may be”
Source: Act of Feb. 14, 1859, ch. 33, § 4 (“First”), 11 Stat. 383
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What the record can’t say
Written by AI
- Gap in the record The identities of the claimants of Donation Land Claims No. 45 and No. 46: the CadNSDI data carry claim numbers and record areas only.
- Gap in the record The dates of settlement, which govern validity: Donation Land Act § 9 (1850) disallowed claims on sections 16 and 36 where residence and cultivation commenced after the survey.
- Gap in the record Whether and when an indemnity (lieu) selection was made for the claimed portions, and of what land: the State Archives’ In Lieu of Lands Clear Lists have not been searched.
- Gap in the record The disposition of the remainder of Section 16 outside the claims, and its subsequent ownership.
What to look up next
Written by AI
Now try your own place Bring boots; the corner posts won’t come to you.