Following the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, the Federal government started surveying the West with the intention of selling as much land as possible to the public. The system used divided land into thirty-six single-square-mile sections. Each section equaled 640 acres or one square mile. Thirty-six squares made up one township. This system is still in use today. This 1905 map offers an excellent example of the acquisition of land under this system by the Empire Cattle Company.