As recorded in Colonial & Early American Land Deeds, Township Surveys & Metes-and-Bounds Descriptions
Paste a metes-and-bounds excerpt. The parser extracts distances in rods, chains, links & perches and converts each automatically.
| Unit | Links | Rods | Chains | Feet | Meters | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Link | 1 | 0.04 | 0.01 | 0.66 | 0.2012 | Smallest Gunter unit |
| 1 Rod / Pole | 25 | 1 | 0.25 | 16.5 | 5.0292 | Also "perch" in deeds |
| 1 Chain | 100 | 4 | 1 | 66 | 20.1168 | Gunter's chain (1620) |
| 1 Furlong | 1,000 | 40 | 10 | 660 | 201.168 | ⅛ mile |
| 1 Mile | 8,000 | 320 | 80 | 5,280 | 1,609.34 | 80 chains exactly |
| 1 Acre | 10 sq chains = 160 sq rods = 43,560 sq ft = 4,047 m² | US standard acre | ||||
Invented by Edmund Gunter (1620), the chain measured exactly 66 feet — chosen so that 10 square chains = 1 acre. Each chain had 100 links. The US Public Land Survey System relied on it until the 20th century. Every township, range, and section in old deeds traces back to this instrument.
The rod (also perch or pole) equals 16½ feet or exactly ¼ chain. Colonial deeds use these terms interchangeably. 160 square rods = 1 acre, making it a natural unit for small parcels. You'll see it constantly in pre-1900 New England, Mid-Atlantic & Southern deed books.