The right answer is Land Ordinance of 1785 first divide land into townships.
In 1785 the delegates described a plan of land surveys and sales that created a rectangular pattern on much of the countries surface, and also created a device for funding public education. Anywhere Indian titles had been extinguished, the Northwest was to be viewed and six-square-mile townships established along east-west and north-south lines. In this scenario, every township was divided into 36 sections one square mile, each one to be sold at auction.
