Michigan meridian

The meridian was selected because it formed one of the principal boundary lines defined in the Treaty of Detroit in 1807, which was the first large cession of land by Native American peoples to the United States in the Michigan Territory.

[2] Michigan's baseline, which today forms the northern border of Wayne, Washtenaw and other counties, was surveyed at the same time by Alexander Holmes, and intended to be exactly 78 miles (125.53 km) north of Fort Defiance.

A section of Meridian Road exists in Meridian Township and runs through most of Ingham and Clinton counties, but is not fully continuous due to marshy areas (formerly the Chandler Marsh, since developed and managed) and the Looking Glass River.

The Michigan meridian forms the boundary between several counties in Michigan: Lenawee and Hillsdale; Shiawassee and Clinton; Saginaw and Gratiot; Ogemaw and Roscommon; Oscoda and Crawford; Montmorency and Otsego; and a portion of the boundary between Chippewa and Mackinac.

Similarly, many of the civil townships in Michigan along the Ohio border have somewhat more or less than the standard 36 square miles.