Brooklyn Historical Society            "Landowners in 1914" Brooklyn Township, Hennepin County, State of Minnesota; Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park
PLAT BOOKS were issued every 4-6 years in the late 1800's to early 1900's and showed land ownership names and acres at the time of the publication.  When farmers owned 20-200 acres or more it was easier to produce these documents than later when land was subdivided in smaller tracts.  The 1914 plat book included a directory of farmers and family members.
Section Boundaries for Brooklyn Center over modern roads & lots.
Section Boundaries for Brooklyn Park over
modern roads & lots.
Farmers Directory in 1914
                       Examples of Landowners in Brooklyn Township
      By comparing maps in different times you can see how farms may have changed  in size or location.
                                                             Mail sent to the OSSEO post office included:

Bohanon, H. H., R1 (postal address), Sec. 28 (section),  42.25 acres (ac): ch. (children) Mary H, Charles H.,     Hamilton D., Winnefred.  (51 years in county)
Champlin, John, R6, Section 17 with 60 acres: Martha (wife) , children; Archie, Elsie. 49 years in county.
Doten, Frank F., R1, Section 22 with 52 acres: Laura (wife), children'; William E.. 35 years in county.
Eidem, J. J., Sr., R2, Section 4 with 160 acres: wife Elizabeth, children; Christian, Bessie. 36 years in                County.
Hamilton, J. W., R2, Section 21 with 100 acres: wife Olive, children; May, Gertrude, Ruth, Alice, Mertiel,              Joseph, Robert... plus mother Mrs. C. L. Drake, sister Esther.  30 Years in County.
Hartkopf, Albert, R1, Section 20 with 80 acres: wife Alvina, children; Wilbur, Winifred, George, William.  45       years in County.  note: 5 Hartkopf families listed in the directory.
Holmes, C., R1, Section 28 with 12 acres: wife Elizabeth, children; Emery, Vera, Edward, 30 years in County.
Mattson, Andrew P., R2, Section 13 with 131 acres: children Ethel A., Alva, Grace.  50 Years in County and      farm callled "Meadow Brook" (Mattson Creek flows through the farm, site of Stagecoach Inn on W. River Rd.)
Purdham, C. W., R2, Section 21 with 70 acres: wife Lunetta, children Plumes, Walter, Albert, 30 Years in Co.
Tessman, Edward, R2, Section 17 with 120 acres: wife Louise; children Raymond, Irma, Alice.  40 years in     County.  Four Tessman farms noted in 1914.

                                                           Mail sent to the Robbinsdale Post Office:

Chapman, A. H., R3, Section 34 with 30 acre: wife Elma E.  22 years in County.
Howe, Everett K., R3, Section 34 with 140 acres: wife Emma; children Frank, Vera, Leroy.  29 years in Co.
Lane, W. F., R3, Section 34 with 20.30 acres: wife Mae; children Francis, Ruth, Evelyn, Marjorie, Sylvia.  34       years in County.
Woodman, J. L., R3, Section 34 with 36 acres: wife Cora E.; children Raymond, Lois.  35 years in County.

                  About 192 farm families were listed in the 1914 Farmers Directory for Brooklyn Township!
A full section is 640 acres (1 mile by 1 mile).  A quarter section is 160 acres (1/2 x 1/2 mile). Each of the quarter sections (NW, NE, SE & SW) are 40 acres each.  The full 36 section township is 6 miles wide and 6 miles high, however there are variations in every state. 
                                    
The Tessman farm in the image above (right of number 32) is 120 acres or 3 quadrants of a quarter section each.  That parcel might be described as the SW, NW & NE quarter sections of the SE 1/4 of Section 17.  Another description might be the W 1/2 and the NE 1/4 of the SE 1/4 ofSection 17.  The rest of the description might inlcude the Township number, the Range number, Township name, County name and in our case, State of Minnesota:

                      Brooklyn Township, Township 119 North, Range 21 West,
                   Hennepin County, Minnesota   (T 119 N, R 21 W)
Click here for more on townships, sections, deeds!
Aerial View of part of the Brooklyn Township, 1945 & still agricultural! (pdf).
The large number 32 refers to the local school district.  Houses & Schools also shown.

The number 17 above the Edward Tessman farm  indicates the township Section number.

Sections in a township are organized into 36 sections (each 1 mile square) as follows:

                    6       5       4       3       2       1
               7       8       9     10     11     12
             18     17     16     15     14     13
             19     20     21     22     23     24
             30     29     28     27     26     25
             31     32     33     34     35     36
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Updated September 2007