The State of Wisconsin was surveyed by the federal government between 1833 and 1866 in order to divide the vast public domain into properly-sized lots that could be sold or otherwise divested to raise funds for the federal government and to encourage settlement. The work was done using the Public Land Survey System (PLSS), which divides land into six-mile square townships and one-mile square sections.
Plat books and maps make use of the Public Land Survey System to represent land ownership patterns on a county-by-county basis. They are a great resource for tracing property owners and borders. The plat map for each year depicts the most updated information for the property at the time the County Register of Deeds’ records were consulted. Such information includes the land owner, number of acres, placement of a house and sometimes other features.
