The twenty men of the Susanville convention who announced the Nataqua Territory had defined a rectangle-shaped territory by latitude and longitude, which inadvertently did not include their own Honey Lake Valley but did encompass most of what soon became western Nevada, along with 600 unsuspecting inhabitants. The Territory of Nataqua was a frontier land club or claim association, designed to protect the property rights of individual settlers until regular government reached the area.
The twenty men from Susanville who established the Nataqua Territory defined a rectangular region by latitude and longitude, but this boundary omitted their own Honey Lake Valley while encompassing most of what later became western Nevada and 600 residents. The Nataqua Territory was a frontier land club designed to protect settlers' property rights until government arrived.