Macon Co. Land Lots

Georgia Land Lots Information

From Virginia Crilley

Macon Co Land LotsIn Georgia, Land Districts and Land Lots never changed no matter how many times the County Line changed. This makes researching in Georgia easy in some ways. However, Macon County came from three original counties which makes it a bit more difficult to understand. Refer to Hall's Map from the Univertisty of Georgia's Carl Vinson Intitute of Government to see the original counties: Houston, Muscogee and Lee. The transfer of land to Macon County occurred in the following ways:

Houston - Land lottery 1821 (everything now in Macon on the east side of Flint River)
Muscogee - Land Lottery 1827
Lee - Land Lottery 1827

Larger Maps

     
Land Lots Map 1 Land Lots Map 2 Land Lots Map 3

     

Georgia's Surveying System

From Ingrid P. Shields, Sr. Archivist, Land Records, Georgia State Archives

Georgia's surveying system west of the Oconee river consists of land districts and land lots. Every time the Indians ceded territory to the state, the land was pre-surveyed. Between 1805 and 1832, Georgia held seven lotteries to distribute its lands west of the Oconee River and south of the Altamaha River. Each lottery distributed lands for a specific area. The lands were laid out into large original counties (e.g. Muscogee County, Houston, Monroe, Troup). These counties were subdivided into numbered Land Districts (squares with a length and width of 9 miles). For instance, Muscogee had 24 districts (1-24); Troup had 12 districts (1-12).

Each districts were subdivided into numbered land lots (every one starting with land lot 1 and ran in a logical order). Take a look at a map of any county showing Land Lots and you'll see these. But be careful that you first pay attention to the District Land Lines, as some lands lot numbering may run almost parallel to the neighboring District.

Hall's 1889 Original County Map of Georgia shows these Original Counties as well as the Land Districts within it. The present counties are also indicated. This map is available from the Georgia Archives for $1.00. These districts and land lots are still the same, since a surveying system cannot be changed once it has been established.

Since these original counties proved to be too large and unmanageable, they were soon broken up into smaller newer counties, which was a never ending process. County lines have nothing to do with district or land lot lines; they can cut right through these. That is why you find a part of District 15, originally Muscogee County, now in Talbot County and another part in Taylor County. A piece of property in this area would be identified by land lot number, land district number and county (and sometimes original county).