Most, if not all, states were surveyed in a system of townships consisting of 36 sections, each of which is nominally 640 acres and one mile on a side. So a half section would usually be 320 acres and a quarter section would be 160 acres.
The Homestead Act made it possible for a lot of landless people to acquire land, usually in parcels of 160 acres, or one quarter section. A homestead of 160 acres would have four 40 acre elements, or 1/4 1/4 sections. Hence, the back 40.
The surveyors had to squish some sections because of the curvature of the earth, so the top tier of sections in a township is usually less than 640 acres. Depending on how and when a state was surveyed, you can find some very interesting anomalies in the system. I know of one township in Idaho that is only one mile wide. I think it must have been the result of reconciliation between two separate surveys, but who knows?
The Homestead Act was a United States Federal law that gave an applicant freehold title to 160-640 acres (1/4-1 section or about 65-259 hectares) of undeveloped land outside of the original 13 colonies. The new law required three steps: file an application, improve the land, and file for deed of title. Anyone who had never taken up arms against the U.S. Government, including freed slaves, could file an application and improvements to a local land office. The Act was signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln on May 20, 1862.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
Eventually 1.6 million homesteads were granted and 270,000,000 acres (420,000 sq mi) were privatized between 1862 and 1986, a total of 10% of all lands in the United States.[7]
Homestead Act - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (16 July 2009)
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