Daily AncestorArpent
An arpent was a French land measure used in Louisiana, Missouri and other once French lands, both a length of about 192 feet and an area of about 0.84 acre.
As a length the North American arpent was 180 French feet. As an area it was 100 square French perches, about 0.84 acre, but it varied: a Missouri court described arpents from 0.84 to 1.28 acres, and a historian of Spanish Louisiana put the arpent at 0.84 acre by French measure and 1.26 by Spanish.
After the Louisiana Purchase, U.S. surveyors settled on about 192 feet for the linear arpent when confirming old French and Spanish grants. In Missouri records the word is usually spelled arpen.
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Daily Ancestor. "Arpent." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/money-measures/arpent. Last checked 2026-10-03.