us land ordinance of 1785 definition township

This is where the “lieu lands” came into being. In instances where it was found that Section Sixteen Lands were already owned by an individual, either by grant from the State of Georgia, England, or some other country that had formerly owned or claimed territory, Congress provided that there would be set aside and selected a different and other section in place of that particular Sixteenth Section for the benefit of the schools. Therefore, the Mississippi's Sixteenth Section Land Trust was created in 1817.

Congressional action granted statehood to Mississippi and called for the survey of land in the state and provided for the reservation of Section Sixteen in each township. The Mississippi Territory was divided by Congress in 1817 to form the State of Mississippi in the west and the Territory of Alabama in the east. The Land Ordinance of 1785 reserved the Sixteenth Section of every township for the maintenance of public schools within said township. Schools being supported through land endowments was a practice rooted in European and even ancient Greek and Egyptian origins (Culp et al., 2005).

The practice of reserving land for schools is an English custom that the colonies continued when settling America.

Us land ordinance of 1785 definition township