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Just a little interesting etymology in correcting your choice of words. 640 acres is about a ‘section’, while one square mile is precisely 640 acres.

The history of the mile went back to the Roman legions, where a mile was 5000 ped later became the English foot. This continued till the time of Queen Elizabeth, when farmland was measured in furoughs. A furough-length being 660 ft or ten chains was a typical unit of agricultural measure, later referenced as a furough-long or furlong.

The English, having a penchant for measuring systems divisible by prime numbers, appealed to the Queen to change the definition of a mile from the Roman mile or 5000 ped (feet) to 5280 ft or 8 furlongs, so that common law and property records could be more easily normalized with actual living conditions. The Queen then changed the definition of the English mile to 8 furlongs.

Now a furlong is equal to a measurement of 10 chains, and a chain is equal to four rod lengths, and a surveyor’s rod is 16.5 ft long. A chain was the width of a plowed field in one day of work or 66 feet.

This takes us back to the mile and the furlong.

A furlong square then provides an area of land which was made divisible by 10, so that unit of measure is the acre. So a square furlong is equal to 10 acres.

A mile is equal to 8 furlongs, so a square mile is equal to 8 square furlongs, squared or 8x8x10 = 640 acres.

In agricultural terms, the a square mile or 64 square furlongs, might be interrupted by various terrain features, so originally, that area wa referred to as a ‘section’.

Meanwhile, townships were defined as about 6 miles square areas, so today in land surveying, we refer to Townships north and south, and range in east and west when partitioning county areas, with each township having 36 sections.

Since the Earth is egg shaped, these square areas are projected onto a curved surface, so each section is “about” one square mile, but the etymology of the square mile is actually and exactly 640 acres, while a ‘section’ is about one square mile.

33/2 feet per rod, 4 rods per chain, and 80 chains per mile.

That's very interesting about the mile. I have never read these facts before.

When flying in an airplane you can often see squares of land. These are usually exactly one mile in length and the lines of the square often point out true north/south east/west. If you time the number of seconds a spot on the window takes to cross a square you can accurately calculate the mph you are traveling. If you consider the position of the sun and time of day to determine your general direction you can use the lines to accurately estimate your true heading.

Concerning this article, the cost of the land shouldn't be much of an issue because it will appreciate in value and will be sold for a profit someday. It is probably the only financially sound part of this investment.