To this day, Texas still primarily uses the metes and bounds system due to the fact that it was an independent republic prior to achieving statehood. The history of metes and bounds use continues today in those states that were originally part of the Thirteen Colonies – or before 1785 – in areas where land was being allocated, such as Maine, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Vermont. The history of metes and bounds use came into play back during the days of the original colonies making up the United States. This is because a more detailed definition would otherwise be either too expensive to carry out, or simply unnecessary. For instance, a manmade wall, public roadway, or even an existing building can serve as a plot of land’s “bounds.” Bounds are often used to define bigger pieces of property, such as farms, or political subdivisions, including a town’s boundaries. “Bounds” is a term that is used to describe a property’s boundary lines in a more general sense. This means that metes can be described as north, south, east, or west. A property’s direction may be as simple as a compass point, or the direction that each point of the property faces. Metes can also be found by determining a plot of land’s direction.

“Metes” are a piece of property’s boundary lines, as determined by measuring its “straight runs.” A straight run is the distance between two points.

70 W (range 70 west) of the 6th PM (the sixth principal meridian, a north–south reference line) in ABC County, Colorado, bears N 45° W 1,320 feet, at which point of beginning an iron stake has been placed thence south 600 feet to a point also marked by an iron stake thence N 45° W 700 feet to a large oak tree thence northeasterly to the point of beginning.” “Beginning at a point from which the north quarter corner of Section 4, T. While the system is still used today, technology has greatly improved upon its associated tools and measurements.Ĭonsider the following example of metes and bounds description, which describes a roughly triangular-shaped piece of property using distance, direction, and compass points, as well as manmade markers that were used to mark out the property for future reference: A metes and bounds description of a piece of land is referred to as its “legal description,” as opposed to being distinguishable by a mere street address or lot number.

Real estate metes and bounds