One rod is exactly 16.5 feet, or 5.5 yards. Multiply rods by 16.5 to get feet; 20 rods is 330 feet. The rod, also called the pole or perch, is a quarter of a Gunter's chain, and it turns up most often in metes-and-bounds descriptions in older deeds across New England, the mid-Atlantic and other early-settled parts of the US, as well as in old British and Irish records.
Formula
Rods to Feet conversion table
| Rods | Feet |
|---|---|
| 0.25 rd | 4.125 ft |
| 0.5 rd | 8.25 ft |
| 1 rd | 16.5 ft |
| 2 rd | 33 ft |
| 3 rd | 49.5 ft |
| 4 rd | 66 ft |
| 5 rd | 82.5 ft |
| 6 rd | 99 ft |
| 7 rd | 115.5 ft |
| 8 rd | 132 ft |
| 9 rd | 148.5 ft |
| 10 rd | 165 ft |
| 15 rd | 247.5 ft |
| 20 rd | 330 ft |
| 25 rd | 412.5 ft |
| 30 rd | 495 ft |
| 40 rd | 660 ft |
| 50 rd | 825 ft |
| 60 rd | 990 ft |
| 70 rd | 1,155 ft |
| 75 rd | 1,237.5 ft |
| 80 rd | 1,320 ft |
| 90 rd | 1,485 ft |
| 100 rd | 1,650 ft |
| 250 rd | 4,125 ft |
| 500 rd | 8,250 ft |
| 1,000 rd | 16,500 ft |
Where you’ll use it
A typical colonial deed reads something like "thence northerly 20 rods to a stone wall," so anyone retracing that line today needs the distance in feet or meters. There are 320 rods in a mile, and 40 rods make a furlong of 660 feet. The square rod, 272.25 square feet, was also used for small parcels, and 160 square rods make an acre. Canoeists still call some portages by their length in rods.
Tip: "Perch" can mean a length (a rod) or an area (a square rod) in old documents, so read the context. Distances in old deeds were also measured loosely; where a deed names monuments, they usually take priority over stated distances, but a licensed surveyor should make that call.