# United States Statutes at Large/Volume 2/12th Congress/1st Session/Chapter 117

Chap. CXVII.—An Act conferring certain powers on the Levy Court for the county of Washington, in the District of Columbia.
Empowered to erect a penitentiary.Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the board of commissioners or levy court for the county of Washington, in the district of Columbia, be, and hereby are empowered to erect and maintain a penitentiary, to be erected in such place as the mayor, aldermen and common council of the city of Washington shall designate.
Vested with power to lay out, straighten, and repair public roads.Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That the board of commissioners or levy court for the said county be vested with full power to lay out, straighten and repair public roads within the said county, except within the corporate limits of the city of Washington and Georgetown, under the conditions herein after prescribed.
Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That the said board or levy court be empowered to lay out and mark roads through any such part of the said county:Proviso. Formalities to be observed in exercising the power of laying out roads. Provided, they shall not exceed one hundred feet in width, and shall not pass through any building, garden or yard, without the consent of the owner; and a reasonable compensation, if required by the owner, shall be made for the land thus marked and laid out, which shall be fixed in the following manner: On laying out and marking any road, six weeks’ notice thereof shall be given in some public print, published in the county. In case any owner of land, through which the said road passes, shall require compensation therefor, he shall within two weeks thereafter apply to the levy court, who may agree with him for the purchase thereof; and in case of disagreement, or in case the owner shall be a feme covert, under age, or non compos, or out of the county, on application to any justice of the county, to be made within two weeks after the expiration of the aforesaid two weeks, the said justice shall issue his warrant, under his hand, to the marshal of the district of Columbia, commissioning him to summon twelve freeholders, inhabitants of the county, not related to the said owner, nor in any manner interested, to meet on the land to be valued at a day to be expressed in the warrant, of which ten days’ notice shall be given by the marshal to the levy court, and to the owner of the said land, or left at his, or her ​place of abode, or given to his or her guardian, if an infant, or if out of the county, by publishing notice thereof, for six weeks in some public print of the county;Jury to assess damages. Oath. Marshal and seven or more of the jury to sign the inquisition, &c. Valuation to be paid by the levy court, &c. and the marshal, on receiving the said warrant, shall summon the said jury, and when met, shall administer an oath or affirmation to every juryman, who shall swear or affirm, as the case may be, that he will justly, faithfully, and impartially, value the land, and all damages the owner thereto will sustain by the road passing through the same, having regard to all circumstances of convenience, benefit or disadvantage, according to the best of his skill and judgment; and the inquisition thereupon taken shall be signed by the marshal and seven or more of the said jury, and shall be conclusive; and the same shall be returned to the clerk of the county, to be by him recorded at the expense of the levy court; and the valuation expressed in such inquisition shall be paid by the said levy court to the owner of the land, or his legal representative, before the levy court proceed to open the said road: in case no such application shall be made within the aforesaid periods, the land thus appropriated shall be adjudged to be conclusively condemned, and no compensation be hereafter required therefor.
Courses, bounds and plat of the road to be returned to the county clerks, &c.Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That the board of commissioners or levy court, as soon as they shall have laid out, marked and opened a road, and complied with the foregoing provisions, shall return the courses, bounds and plat thereof to the clerk of the county, to be by him recorded at the expense of the said court; and the said road, so laid out and returned, as aforesaid, shall be thereafter taken, held and adjudged, a public road and common highway.
Stone, gravel, or other materials for making or repairing a road, may be condemned on valuation. Ante, sec. 3.Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That in all cases, where stone, gravel or other material, shall be necessary for making or repairing a road, the levy court may agree with the owner for the purchase thereof, or with the owner of the land on which the same may be, for the purchase of the said land; and in case of disagreement, or in case the owner should be a feme covert, under age, or non compos, or out of the county, on application to a justice of the county, may proceed, in all respects, in the same manner for condemning the said materials for the use of said road, as in like cases where lands are directed to be taken and condemned as aforesaid, for making the said road: and the said parties respectively, shall have the same benefit and advantage of the said proceedings as they have under, and in virtue of the said provision for condemning land herein before mentioned.
Growing crops not to be injured.Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That if a road shall be carried through any fields of ground in actual cultivation, such fields shall not be laid open, or used as a public road, until after the usual time of taking off crops then growing thereon.
Persons altering, obstructing, or injuring a public road, liable to indictment, fine, or imprisonment.Sec. 7. And be it further enacted, That if any person shall alter or change, or in any manner obstruct or encroach on a public road, or cut, destroy, deface or remove any mile stones set up on said road, or put or place any rubbish, dirt, logs, or make any pit or hole therein, such person may be indicted in the circuit court for the district of Columbia, and being convicted thereof shall be fined or imprisoned in the discretion of the court, according to the nature of the offence.
Levy court may lay taxes, except within the limits of the city of Washington, &c.Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That the board of commissioners or levy court may, for the aforesaid and all other general county purposes, annually lay a tax on all the real and personal property in the said county, except within the limits of the city of Washington, any existing law to the contrary notwithstanding, not exceeding twenty-five cents in the hundred dollars value of said property, for the collection, safe keeping and disbursement of which they are hereby empowered to appoint the necessary officers, and to use all the means now in force and necessary for the assessment and collection of taxes in the said county, and to insure a due and regular accountability for the same, and all existing ​laws, so far as they vest in the said levy court a power to lay taxes, shall be, and the same are hereby repealed.
Levy court released from any obligation to provide for a certain part of the poor.Sec. 9. And be it further enacted, That the board of commissioners or levy court shall be, and hereby are released from any obligation to provide for the support of the poor of any other part of the county of Washington, other than that part without the limits of the city of Washington, to provide for whom they are hereby authorized to lay and collect a special tax, to be imposed on said part of the county.
Board of commissioners or levy court, how composed and designated.Sec. 10. And be it further enacted, That the board of commissioners or levy court of the county of Washington shall be hereafter composed of seven members, to be designated immediately after the passing of this act, by the President of the United States, from among the existing magistrates of the county, and annually afterwards on the first Monday in May, that is to say, there shall be two members designated from among the magistrates residing in that part of the county lying eastward of Rock creek, and without the limits of the city of Washington; two from among the magistrates residing in that part of the county lying westward of Rock creek, and without the limits of Georgetown; and three from among the magistrates residing within the limits of Georgetown. A majority of the members so designated shall constitute a quorum to do business.
How the general and particular expenses of the county are to be defrayed.Sec. 11. And be it further enacted, That the general county expenses and charges, other than for the expenses of roads and bridges out of the limits of Washington and Georgetown, respectively, shall be borne and defrayed by the said city of Washington, and the other parts of the county equally, that is to say; one moiety of said expenses and charges shall be borne by the city, and paid over to whomsoever the board of commissioners or levy court may appoint as treasurer of the court; and the other moiety, by the other parts of the county: which said general expenses shall be ascertained annually by the said board of commissioners or levy court and the corporation of the said city. And in case of any difference of opinion as to what are or may be properly called general expenses, and applicable to the whole county, agreeably to the provisions of this and other acts relating to the subject, it shall be the duty of the circuit court for the said county, upon joint application, or upon the application of either party, and due notice to the other party; to inquire, determine and settle in a summary way the matter in difference.
Bridges over Rock creek to be rebuilt and kept in repair at the joint expense of the city of Washington and Georgetown.Sec. 12. And be it further enacted, That the two bridges over Rock creek, immediately between the city of Washington and Georgetown, shall be kept in repair and rebuilt, in like manner as at present, at the joint expense and cost of the said city and Georgetown; and the sums required for such repairs or rebuildings shall from time to time be ascertained by the said board of commissioners or levy court for the county, and the amount required from each corporation shall be paid over, after sixty days’ notice, to the treasurer of the county.
The two corporations authorized to erect a permanent bridge.Sec. 13. And be it further enacted, That it shall and may be lawful at any time hereafter for the corporation of the city of Washington, and the corporation of Georgetown, jointly or separately, and at their joint or separate expense, as the case may be, to erect a permanent bridge across Rock creek, and between the two places, at such sites as the corporation first choosing to build shall determine and fix upon; and if it should be necessary to obtain private property on which to fix either or both the abutments of the said permanent bridge or bridges, or for other purposes connected with the work, the said corporation so choosing to build shall have power to agree with the owner or owners for the purchase of such property; and in case of disagreement, or in case the owner shall be a feme covert, under age or non compos, or out of the county, the mayor of the said corporation shall thereupon summon a jury to be composed of twelve freeholders, inhabitants of the said county, ​The two corporations authorized to erect a permanent bridge.not related to the said owner, nor in any manner interested, who shall meet on the ground to be valued, at a day to be expressed by the mayor in the said summons, of which ten days’ notice shall be given by the mayor to the owner or owners of the said ground, or left at his, her or their place of abode, or given to his, her or their guardian, if an infant, or if out of the county, by publishing notice thereof for six weeks in some newspaper printed in the county, and when the jury shall have met pursuant to the aforesaid summons, each juryman shall swear or affirm, that he will justly, faithfully and impartially value all the ground held as private property and intended and required to be used or occupied by reason of the contemplated erection of the permanent bridge, and the amount of damages the proprietor or proprietors of said ground will sustain (taking into view at the same time the benefits which the said proprietor or proprietors will derive from the erection of the said bridge) according to the best of his skill and judgment. And the inquisition and valuation thereupon taken, shall be signed by the mayor and seven or more of the said jury, and shall be binding and conclusive upon all parties concerned; and the same shall be transmitted to the clerk of the county, to be by him recorded: and the valuation expressed in the aforesaid inquisition shall be paid or tendered to the owner or owners of the ground so condemned, or his or their legal representatives, by the corporation intending to build such bridge, within thirty days after such valuation shall have been made, and before any work is commenced on the grounds so valued.
Approved, July 1, 1812.