Year: 1970
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Survey systems are expressions of ideas men have about the way land should be subdivided.Once put into use, the survey system becomes part of the settlement pattern.The occupance pattern thus defined puts a cultural and physical imprint on the face of the earth which may persist for millenia.Louisiana appears to be unique among the United States in having four survey systems within its boundaries.Suc cessively settled by French, English, Spanish, and Americans, the state has experienced the land division ideas of each of these.As these cultural groups settled on the land, dis tinctive cadastral patterns began to appear on the landscape.The major culture groups settled areas which had distinctive physical characteristics.A brief physical and culture history sketch of Louisiana is given.The arpent or long lot division was introduced by the French and was continued by the Spanish.This long, narrow parcel of land is characteristic of the streams of south Louisiana, but extends along the major waterways into north Louisiana.It was widely distributed in western Europe by the 12th century.The Anglo-Saxon settlers in the Florida Parishes ix brought in the idea of irregular or metes and bounds sur veys.This system leads to a crazy-quilt field pattern and spiderweb roadnet.The method is ancient in Europe, parti cularly in the old Celtic lands.The first written charters in Anglo-Saxon England are described with this irregular survey.The Spanish stockmen in the western portion of Louisiana used the square sitio type of division.These are usually one league square, nnd were specified for the Posts of Opelousas and Attakapas (St.Martinville).The ante cedents of the sitio system are more obscure than the others, but appear to be at least medieval.The great majority of Louisiana*a area is covered by the American rectangular system, with its township and range lines oriented to the cardinal directions.The closest European antecedent appears to be the centuriatio of ancient Rome.The forebears of the centuriatio go back at least to the 6th century B.C. in Greece.Though all systems are subsumed as irregular sections in the rectangular system, the physical and cultural land scape of Louisiana is still influenced by each of these four systems.x
Author: Hall, John Whitling
Institution: Louisiana State University
Language: English
Subfield: Geography, Planning and Development
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
OpenAlex ID: W4282836440