Frequently Asked Questions

The Chippewa County plat book is a compilation of the information contained in records housed in various county offices regarding land boundaries and land use.

We compile each page using the Chippewa County geographic information system (GIS). The GIS was created as accurately as possible, using survey information from the public and private sectors. Each land parcel was then created with the property tax information attached. This process lasted nine years until the entire county was completed.

The process of upgrading the GIS continues every year. Very few of the parcels were surveyed in the original work, so as we go forward we are adding new survey data every year. When we compute the acreage from survey data the results may vary from year to year because of what those new survey records show (See Why does my acreage change?).

Forties are not 40-acre tracts because they are defined as:

Quarter-Quarter Section, 40 acres more or less according to government survey.

The federal government survey was completed from 1850 to 1855 in Chippewa County. The survey crews commissioned to lay out the townships and sections used a 5-inch compass with two sighting veins (no telescope) and a 66-foot-long chain with 100 links for distance measurement. They were attempting to make sections exactly 5280 feet on a side as well as 90 degrees in the corners. Had they succeeded, Quarter-Quarter Sections would be 40 acres exactly. They failed in the attempt due to the tools and techniques available at the time. However, today we must still use the survey work they established. Therefore, some sections are long and some are short. By extension, some Quarter-Quarter Sections are long (greater than 40 acres) and some are short (less than 40 acres) as well.

When new survey data is added to the GIS, the computed acreage, rounded to the nearest acre, changes slightly. The parcel is still exactly what was always owned. The deed determines what you own, not the acreage.

Unless surveyed, a 1/4 to 1/4 section will be listed as a 40-acre parcel on the tax roll. Acreage on the plat book pages do not include land in roadways. Legal descriptions lying east, west, north or south of a creek, road, railroad right-of-way, etc. are estimated acres on the tax roll. The only way to know and calculate exact acreage is to have the property surveyed.