Daily AncestorRange
In the federal land survey, a range is a north-south column of townships, numbered east or west of a principal meridian, as in Range 3 West.
In the Public Land Survey System, townships are lined up in columns called ranges, each six miles wide. Range 3 West is the third column west of the principal meridian.
A range number never stands alone. You need the township, the range and the principal meridian together to place a tract on the map.
As seen in a recordLand description in a federal patent
Township 6 North, Range 3 West
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Daily Ancestor. "Range." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/legal-land/range. Last checked 2026-10-01.