All lands in Iowa by townships are numbered eastward and westward from the 5th principal meridian which, extending due north from the mouth of the Arkansas river, passes through he eastern part of Iowa twelve miles west of Dubuque. This meridian,which is the 14th west from Washington, gives the range of the townships east and west; and from it the east tier of townships of Pocahontas county is numbered 31, the second 32,the third 33 and the west tier 34.

All the townships in Iowa are numbered northward from a base line, a true parallel that, extending due east and west, crosses the 5th principal meridian forty-eight miles north of the mouth of the Arkansas river. This is the 35th parallel of north latitude and forms the north boundary line of Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi. Counting from this base line, the south tier of townships of Pocahontas county is numbered 90, the second 91, the third 92 and the north tier 93.

The boundary lines on the north and south sides of a township are called township lines, and the rows or tiers of townships running east and west on these lines, which are parallel to the base line, are called townships. The boundary lines on the east and west sides of a township are called range lines, and the tiers of townships running north and south along these lines, which are parallel to the principal meridian, are called ranges. The boundary lines of a section are called section lines, and all interior corners, necessary for the division of a section, were left by the government surveyors to be located by local or county surveyors.

Since the meridians of longitude converge toward each other as we pass northward from the equator, it follows that the north line of a township would naturally be a little shorter than the south line. Pocahontas county is located between the 42nd and 43rd parallels and in this latitude the convergence is about forty three feet to each township. This convergence is remedied by an occasional correction line, one of which may be seen upon the map of Iowa extending east and west six miles south of Pocahontas county. The correction is made in the tier of townships south of this line. While the distances on the north side of this line are all six miles, those on the south side of it are all less than six miles by the amount of the convergence for the distance the township lines have been run. All the other townships are intended to be six miles square.

The sections of a township are always numbered 1 to 36 in regular order, starting with one at the north east corner of the township and proceeding west, and then east, etc, until the southeast corner is reached.

Each township is six miles square, or 36 square miles. There are thirty six equal sections in each township. Each section is 640 acres, or one square mile. Each horizontal row of sections is called a tier. There are 6 tiers in each section. This is shown in the map below.