Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1872-08-01
LOCAL NEWS.

LOOAL IN IL w ~.
DECREASE OF THE PoToMAc.-That the
streams are all growing small by degrees, if not
beautifully less, is made apparent by each day $
observation. To yesterdays Gazette was pub.
lished an account of the decrease IN the size OF
rivers to the north of this and to day the diml-
button of the Potomac Is the subject OF an
'tem" Slowly but surely are the Hats en-
croaching upon the chaune and at equal pace
is the channel being robbed OF its depth. Be
low this CITY the change is not so perceptible,
hut between here and Washington it Is appar-
cut to every one at all familiar with the ap-
pcarance of the river. At low tide there Is now
a good deal of bare ground visible between here
and the Arsenal, and the chauue from GelsbOro
Point up to 9TH Street wharf is so narrow that
two vessels have difficulty in passing each other
while traversing it. Dumtries, some miles be-
low this city, was once shipping port of COO
siderable importance, but now long boat can
hardly reach there except upon full tide; and,
as stated the other day, when deprecatlng the
deposit of the mud drcdged from the ashlng
ton docks in the Potomac, of Gcsboro 1T will
not be mauy years before the astllugton
channel will lie ouly deep enough Tor the pas
sage Of fiat boats, and Alexandria be the port. OF
the District Of Columbia. In this connection
the following, takcu from the Washington cor
resp0ndcncc Of the Baltimore Sun OF this morn
ing, may not prove embarrassing The lu-
crease in the extent and height of the fats on
the Potomac river, between the Maryland and
the Virginia channels, within the hunts of the
District, is the subject Of notice by all who
have &C casion to be often on the river at
ordinary low tides long island, stretching from
off the Washington Monument to Twelfth
street wharf, while an unusual low water will
leave bare the whole space between the Chan.
ncl> in front of the city. There is also large
>hoal rapidly coming up above ordinary low
water off Gicshoro and another near Anaostan
Island besides smaller shoals in other places
which become islands whenever the water
,a>s,S much below the limits of ordinary low
tide There has been for years an anxiety on
the part of some of the citizens of the District
to obtain title to these shoals by means OF u.
$. patents Thomas w. Dickens and Charles
McNamce sought as long ago as 1889 to patent
the flats of the river from GieSboro to MaSon's
Island In lS47 Conrad France sought to pat
ent all the laud vacant at low water between the
Virginia shore and the Virginia channel. Jas.
Iowlcs. in So, made all the necessary prelim-
inarics for obtaining Il patent for the shoals be-
tween the Georgetown and Alexandria chau
ncls off Gcsboro' In 1858 Mr. }. L. kdwcll,
fthiS city, endeavorcd to patent the flats ad
i,nng the upper side of the Long Bridge, but
the surveyors reported the land to the land
office as submerged and unsurvcyab!c. In
June I>G7, James H. Skduore applied to
patent an Island in the Potomac ! Of Il mile
from Greculcaf's Point, and paid ~ cents
therefor, but the island was reported by the
surveyors as submerged by the tidal flow. 10
1866 he tried to obtain patent for an island
at the mouth of Fiber creek. Calvin &. Will
son applied to patent the shoals south of Ma
sons Island iu 1870, aud Reuben Daw made
an application to patent the flats below Anal
ostan Island, in Scmptemher, 1871. None
of these applications have been successful in
laying the foundation Of title. but in one
application Mr. j. l.. kidwcll was more
fortunate. la September 1867, he applied to
locate land warrant on an island in the Poto-
mac river, between the Washington city chan
mel and the Swash channel, from Fifteenth
street west to where ID street north strikes the
river. The survey of this tract showed All
acres, and in December, 1869, MIR. kdwell re-
ceved patent for the land Last September
Inc filed u supplemental application for 30 acres
lying between the Maryland and Virginia chan
nels below the Long Bridge, and for five acres
above the Long Bridge. The time within
which these applications may be perfected has
not yet expired.