Polk County Public Works
Government Corner Search

Government Corner: Corners established by either the Government Land Office (GLO) or the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). In Oregon, these corners were set for both the rectangular survey (e.g. section corners, quarter corners) and the Donation Land Claim Corners.

To obtain the correct BLM Number, scroll down to see the DLC Index,
the Typical Township Index and the instructions on how to use these indexes.

DLC Index (Click on the appropriate Township and Range to obtain BLM Numbers in .tif format.)

Rectangular Survey Index (Section, 1/4, 1/6 corners) (Click here to download this information in .dwg, click the map to view a .tif)

General Instructions

To facilitate the search for information on Government Corners a BLM ID number has been assigned to every corner in Polk County. Those ID numbers are shown on this index. To search for a specific corner, use the CORNER SEARCH FORM and do the following. Enter the Township and Range the corner falls within and then enter the appropriate BLM ID number. Next, press the SEARCH button to obtain whatever information is available.

The index is organized as follows:
The BLM ID numbers for the D.L.C. Corners are shown on the index next to the corner.
The BLM ID numbers for corners in the rectangular survey follow a repetitive pattern. This pattern is shown in the accompanying DETAILS of a typical Township, Section, and 1/4-1/4 section. As illustrated, the lowest ID number (100100) is always at the southwest corner of the Township. The ID numbers get larger as you move to the North and the East.

When a corner falls on a Range Line or Township Line always use the Township and Range that lies to the North of the Township line or the East of the Range Line. For example, the southeast corner of Section 24 in Township 7 South, Range 5 West would be searched for by entering Township 7 South, Range 4 West, BLM ID number 100300 on the form. Likewise, the northeast corner of Section 2 in Township 7 South, Range 5 West would be searched for by entering Township 6 South, Range 5 West, BLM ID number 600100. This rule also applies to D.L.C. corners that fall along Range Lines and Township Lines. The detail of section 16 illustrates how the BLM ID numbers are organized so searches for 1/4 and 1/16 corners can be made.

A search for 1/64 corners can be made by a further breakdown as shown by the detail of the SW 1/4 of the SW 1/4. The following is a further example of how this index works. Just as the SE Corner of Section 16 is BLM ID number 400400 the SE Corner of section 26 is BLM ID number 600200. The W 1/4 of Section 16 is BLM ID number 300440 and the W 1/4 of Section 26 is BLM ID number 500240. The S 1/4 of Section 16 is BLM ID number 340400 and the S 1/4 of section 26 is BLM ID number 540200. As previously stated, this numbering system is repetitive throughout all of the Townships and Sections. What makes these numbers unique to a specific corner is the Township and Range the corner falls within.