Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1870-12-24
County-seat AGAIN.

were 50 confident that the movement was So
manifestly Just and proper that We hardly snP-
posed there was room Eir controversy at all
Hence We characterized il as simple &C, Of
iastice u the people Of the county Our
friend. the Shepher,l>town Register, however.
takes exceptions % this mnle uf dealing with
the subject, and SAYS why our co,emporary
ir,agines this would be An act Of simple jus
i.,e To the peopeat large, We cannot divine.
Tn an article published iuce this protest was
written. we endeayorel to show why simple
iustice would be subserved by the proposed
restoration. and laid before our readers, and we
trust many of the readers If the Register, the
facts and statistics upon which that Judgment
j. preiics,ed.
To tha, article We now refer our friend and
ask his careful aud thoughtful per''s'l IT it.
In i, we think is demonstrated the fact drawn
from the results of the last census that the cou-
veuieuce Of at least two to one Of the people oI
the county requires the county-seat to be d"
Charlestuwu rather than ShepherlStOwu NJ any
ether named point We insist upon It that
the geography Of the county supp 'rts hey oud
al question this view Of the case. II is tru"
our eotemporary alleges that Charle>tnwn l.
not the centre Of the county and thai
Shepherds,own is not a remote aud naccc,-
sibe corner" oft, and even if it were, "s'ill We
have counties all around MS with couuty-seai'
similarly situated aud instances Brrryv''r.
Front Royal, Luray and Winchester, s'd inr-
tber saws: q" in fact We know Of bufew conn
ties, comparatively in which IT, county-se~'
is in or near the centre and yet, says
10. there people are satisfied with this NJ
Justice aud inconverenco
n aoswsr to thS position We simply SAY
tina, if our fried is correc, in the statement
tia, the coy,ty seats referred to are not in the
centre, c,their respective counties, bat on the
bordas, in remote corners" or any where
csc he chuoses 10 locate them, We see reason
Why VIC should follow their example, unless
we are convinced that il j. worthy ct imitation
But il is not well known that in each Of the
caS,s O. which he refers where there IS 4 de-
parture from the centre of tie county in the
establishment Of the eounty-seat. ;here az
good aud sufigieut reasons for such dep r
IRE which will a, once explain the guoi judd
usut tia, controlled it. Let Us take q esr
euunty-seats in the order in which they are
named and SEE If that is not the case First,
then. Is Berryvils This IS The only town ui
any Importance Ia Clark county, .ul Sa, es-
,ablShed before the creation "f the county, sHd
whilst il Was sIill part Of Frederick county
Il was on the rad from Winchester 10 Lees
Lurg-a highway Of an extensive travel be-
tween tvoimporAnt points-he>i.lrs being the
centre 10 which all the ruaiS in the area en-
braced in the county Of Clarke convergel--
With the facts all before them can there be any
wonder in the mind 81 any one why BeTyvillr
was chosen as the county seat for the new
county when it was formed? Where else
could the people If the county have gone fora
eounty-ssat? A location elsewhere would have
changed the whole raj system Of the cnuuty.
A position nearer the geographical ceutrr
might have been found bu, what WAS there C.
attract them - the spot? There would hay'
been neither = town nor roads 70 invite them
70 it.
The next i. Front Royal, town Alsn older
than Warren county whose county-Sest 1; Il.
and four friend will examine any reliable map
Of Virginia he will discover that it l. no; very
far from the centre Of the county. The reasons
which led 70 il. selection aside from Its cen
trality were the same as IN the case vi Berry
vile. I, was by far the most accessible point
IN the county aud vas the only town in it
As to Luray, the next in the catalogue, W
think il would be most d'fi,ult 20 place the
finger on 4 spot more ceutrNl 70 Page county
than that which It's county-Srat occupies. All
who know the history & the Valley are &C
auaiuted with the fact that Winchester was
the couuty-seat Of Frederick county when
Clarke was still a portion Of It's territory. aud
On examination, il will be seen At glance.
that Us position il as near the centre of the
two counties above named combined as can hs
possibly indicated.
To recapitu'A,e. then, We LAY, that wherever
tie eouuty-sea,. in the instances named. Is not
found near the territorial centre there were
reasons abundautly strong aud satisfactory t.
the people 10 control the selections which they
made elsewhere.
Can our freud Of the Register say the same
thing in reference 10 the establishment Of the
couu,y-seat Of jefferson county At Shepherds
town?
+ there anything in the whole history OF the
case % show that those who did the act were
Influenced nv any considerations such a. those
which we have demonstrated influenced the
minds Of the citizens Of the COUNTIES TO which
attention has been called
Isit no, true that when our county was frs,
orcanised. aud whilst Shephyri,,avn con-
tanned a larger population even than now il
t,n baast-v hist its business WAS still larger
than il, is a; present, aud whilst Charlr>t'"u
was in lie infancy for some reason satisfactory
. them aud apparent now TO Us, the latter
v-4s designated by our ancestors As the county
5eat, aud fur upwards Of sixty years remained