The document discusses the history and types of land descriptions used in the United States. It begins by explaining how land transfers originally involved walking property boundaries and later required legal recording of conveyances. It then describes the U.S. Land Survey System established in 1785 which divided land into townships and ranges to simplify descriptions. The document outlines the three main types of legal descriptions and provides an example of each. It concludes by emphasizing the importance of precise legal descriptions that can withstand legal challenges.

1. Raymond F. Phillips BS PSM
Pasco County

2.  Originally the transfer of property was done by the
seller and buyer walking the perimeter of the land and
observing the monuments at each corner, known at
that time as bounds, or if such monuments were not
there they set one. In 1640 the Plymouth Colony
required by law that a notice of the conveyance of land
was to be recorded.

3.  The Land Ordinance of 1785 was enacted on March 4
and passed on May 30th of 1785, and became known as
the “United States Land Surveying System” which
eventually divided up all of the land not included in
the original thirteen colonies into theoretically 6 mile
square townships. The use of sections with the
township range numbers and the name of the
meridian made the description of land much easier,
faster and provided a self sufficient non duplicating
vehicle for indexing the land. Ohio was the first state
to be divided this way.

5.  Legal Descriptions can be broken down into three
kinds.
1. Fractional (The West 200 feet of the NW ¼ of the
SW ¼ of Section 10, Township 24 South, Range 18
East, Pasco County Florida.)
2. Metes and Bounds (Thence N.00°15’26”E. along the
westerly right of way of U.S. Highway 19, 200.00 feet
to a point of curvature.)
3. Lot and Block (Lot 1, Block 2 of the Plat of Longleaf
Unit One as recorded in Plat Book 70, Page 18 of the
public records of Pasco County, Florida.)
* In Pasco County all Deeds and Plats are recorded with the Clerk of the Circuit Court.

6.  A description of the outline of a certain area is the
proper grouping of words which delineates one
specific piece of land and which cannot apply to any
other piece of land.
 The Definition is correctly stated as land description,
it is generally called “legal” because it must stand up
under the law and litigation.
 The main parts of a description are the caption and the
body, and sometimes there are qualifications such as
exceptions, reservations, and additions.

7. Materials needed a pen a piece of unlined paper a measuring device and
the legal description.
Consider the following description:
The South 300 feet of the West 660 feet of the Southwest ¼ of the
Southwest ¼ of the Northwest ¼ of Section 18, Township 25 South, Range
17 East.
The way to read this is backwards; Start with the Township Range then
the Section. Draw a box for the section, quarter it move to the Northwest
1/4 of it quarter that, move to the Southwest ¼ of that quarter it. From the
west line of that quarter draw a parallel line 660 feet away (which should
be the east line of that quarter.) A section is nominally 1 mile, half that or
the length of the NW ¼ would be 2640, the length of the SW ¼ of the
NW ¼ would be half that or 1320, the length of the SW ¼ of the SW ¼ of
the NW ¼ would be half that or? 660. Then from the southern line of
that ¼ draw a parallel line 300 feet north and that 300x660 foot box is our
parcel.

8. Section 18 Township 25 South
Range 17 East
NW 1/4
SW 1/4

9.  Technically the lines are drawn from the mid points of the “Squares”,
and I have yet to find a perfectly square, or even 1 mile section.
 You might not know it but most of this work was done before the civil
war in Florida and they were stretching actual 66’ long chains to
measure. Avoiding trees, alligators, Indians and irate settlers such that
alot of the section lines are not straight and have bends at the halfway
point.
 All the error was moved to one side or the other in a range, and to the
top in an effort to make most of the sections nearly a mile square. With
that 12 of the 36 sections are either wider, or thinner than the standard
section and those are divided differently one has to look at the original
maps (Which survey has a copy) to determine where the error went.
 We need to know how to read fractional descriptions because there is
still a lot of property in the county with descriptions written this way.

10. Do you recognize where we are?

11.  Metes and bounds descriptions were created before there were Sections,
Townships and Ranges. These laid out the boundary of real property that was
quite often described as from the White Oak tree along the stone fence
southerly to the middle of Thomas Creek, thence along Thomas Creek westerly
to Turnip Road, thence northeasterly along Turnip Road to the crest of Thomas
hill, thence Southeasterly to the White Oak tree.
 All metes and bounds descriptions must start and end at a uniquely
identifiable recorded point that there can be no question about.
 Are the following examples acceptable?
 Beginning at the intersection of the west right of way line of U.S. highway
19 and the north line of Section 18, Township 26 South, Range 16 East.
 Beginning at the Northwest corner of Lot 2 of the plat of Phillips Acres as
recorded in Plat Book 2, Page 34 of the Public Records of Pasco County
Florida.
 Beginning at the Northwest corner of the Northwest corner of Section 18
Township 26 South Range 16 East.

12.  Point of Commencement: This is a known point
uniquely identified and recorded such that there is no
question as to its identity or location. This is often
used at the beginning of a description when the Point
of Beginning cannot be uniquely identified.
 Point of Beginning: The actual point in a legal
description that starts or ends the description of the
actual parcel and not how to get to the parcel.

13.  Bearings are angular measurements from the polar
meridian and are described in angles of 90 degrees or
less.
NE
SESW
NW
N 90° E or
S 90° E
N 90° W or
S 90° W
S 00° E or
S 00° W
N 00° E or
N 00° W

14.  Curve descriptions must consist of at least 3 parts of the curve.
For our sake the chord bearing and chord distance or (chord)
makes it easier for us to read.
 Curve to the right or left. This explains which direction to the
radius point, and therefore which direction the arc curves.
 Parts of a curve:
A
D
R
A=Arc the length of the
curve along a constant
distance from the radius
point.
CB=Chord bearing the
direction from PC to PT
CL=Chord length the
distance from PC to PT
R=Radius the distance
from the Radius point to
the PC or PT
D=Delta or Central
Angle, the angular
distance from the PC to
the PT.
PC point of curvature
the beginning of the
curve
PT point of tangency
then endpoint of the
curve.
PC
PT

15.  Armed with a protractor, a scale and a blank piece of
paper now plot the following legal description.
 Beginning at the NE corner of Tract 1 of the plat of
Tampa Tarpon Springs Land Company as recorded in
Plat book 1 page 60 of the Public Records of Pasco
County Florida. thence N.56°47’30”E. a distance of 300
feet; thence, S.33°12’30”E a distance of 150 feet; thence
S.56°47’30”W. a distance of 300 feet; thence
N.33°12’30”W. a distance of 150 feet to the Point of
Beginning.

16. NE
corner
Tract 1
The arrows show the direction of the angle
from the vertical.

17.  A boundary or description is a physical thing with actual
boundaries dividing property such that those things that define
the boundary hold.
 Calls are descriptive conditions on the length of a line which
hold precedence over the distance. Such as “to the Northeast
corner of lot 1.”
 Courses are defining descriptive linear limits which hold
precedence, over the direction or bearing of a line. Such as
“Thence along the easterly right of way line of Leonard Road the
following 3 courses.”
 Conditions are limits based on other priori recorded rights. Such
as “Thence N. 57°03’30”E, 100.00 feet to the West boundary of
the lot recorded in Official Records Book 4567, page 65 of the
public records of Pasco County, Florida. Thence along said West
boundary S. 32°56’30”E. a distance of 250.00 feet.”

18.  As we said earlier why we call them Legal Descriptions is that they must stand
the test of law and litigation.
 The Clerk of the Circuit Court of Pasco County is where all recorded deeds are
filed. I say recorded because a deed can be legal when it is executed, signed by
the grantor and sealed by a notary public, even if it is not recorded.
 Another note on recording; by State Statute the Clerks office has to record
anything you submit for record, even if it’s a statement on how the Cubs are the
most awesome baseball team ever. Not all deeds that are filed actually convey
property. It must be determined if the individual who “Conveyed” the property
had the right to. If there is any question as to the right people usually file what
is known as a quit claim deed.
 Quit Claim deeds grant to the grantee any rights the grantor had to the
property but do not warrantee that they had rights to begin with.
 According to State Statute there are only 3 people who can write legal
descriptions. The land owner, a lawyer and a surveyor. Needless to say there are
alot of real estate agents who must have a law degree…

19.  This was the most basic class I could give on legal
descriptions. There are many more limitations and
permutations that cause difficulty in reading legal
descriptions.
 I can at another time cover what happens when two
legal descriptions walk into a bar…
 Thank you!