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Land Platting Made Easy

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Create a Call List

Highlight the calls - lines (including direction, distance and adjoining neighbors) and corners (physical description, including neighbors) on your transcription or copy. Land platting experts Patricia Law Hatcher and Mary McCampbell Bell suggest to their students that they underline the lines, circle the corners, and use a wavy line for meanders.

Once you've identified the calls and corners on your deed or land grant, create a chart or list of the calls for easy reference. Check off each line or corner on the photocopy as you work to help prevent errors. This list should always begin with a corner (the beginning point in the deed) and alternate corner, line, corner, line:

  • beginning corner - lightwood post (Stephenson corner)
  • line - N79E, 258 poles
  • corner - scrubby white oak (Thomas Doles)
  • line - N5E, 76 poles
  • corner - white oak
  • line - NW, 122 poles
  • corner - pine (Joseph Turners corner)
  • line - N7E, 50 poles
  • corner - turkey oak
  • line - N72W, 200 poles
  • corner - dead white oak (Stephenson)
  • line - by Stephenson's line to beginning
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