The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 created a territory that stretched all the way north from the southern boundary of present-day Nebraska to include all of the remaining lands of the Louisiana Purchase. Over the years, changes were made that left the territory in roughly the same shape and with roughly the same boundaries as Nebraska has today. Its northern and southern borders were drawn along lines based on a system of longitude and latitude developed in the 18th century. Surveyor set markers to physically mark the imaginary lines on the landscape: sections, townships, and acreages were created.

Learn more at NebraskaStudies.org.