The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1872-10-09
a Town IN Two STATES. take the
following extract from the letter of

following extract from the letter of a
correspondent of the New York Tribute:
BRISTOL. TENN, Sept. 12, 1872.
| This town. straddled as it is across
the boundary line of West Virginia and
tennessee, is comical study to the
stranger. doubt if there be any other
town IN the country as curiously disposed
in typographical WY. The bulk of it.
consisting of the main street, over half
mile long, is two. thirds in Ten nessee
and one-third in Virginia.; 80 that man
sitting recumbently under his own vine
anu hg tree at the Eust side of the tho.
roughfare can kick his heels over the
SOIL OF one State and swing his body over
that OF the other. It is about equally
divided In population, number of houses,
churches, barber-shops and beer saloons.
Every kind of store at the Tennessee
side OF the street has it's counterpart on
that OF Virginia, and the street itself is
not more than thirty feet wide. The
virginia corner grocery has bar of soap
ior every Que in the Tennessee store op.
posite, and uice cersd. There are two
mayors, two sets Of town officers and
two Leading hotels; but they are as one
IN Federal head, or tail, if you like,
VINO ls the potential representative OF
eNN O5AsSh A1thtOo pO5b OIuG0. d6r0 we
nave another beautiful illustration in
miniature of our system of ..oheoks and
balances" of unity in division and har-
mony between the simple and complex.
Ii man appropriates his neighbor's
coat on the Virginia side, he has only to
cross the State to Tennessee, wrap him
self IN the stolen garment, and make
faces at his outraged victim. The laws
delay ls about week before reonisi-
ton from the Governor of Vireinia
reaches him of Tennessee and travels
down for enforcement to the boundary
line.
When the people fifty yards from
where am writing have any court busi-
moss to perform they 60 fifteen miles, to
the town of Abingdon. in West Virginia,
Whiie the folks here at the West side 20
eleven miles IN an opposite direction, to
tne town OF Bluntville, Tennessee. In
the latter State, when an election comes
on the liquor stores at this side are all
closed through the day; but the thirsty
topers cross over the distance with hop,
SKIP and Jump into Virginia, drink to
thelr hearts content and return. The
Virginia side claims pure and indebted
Democraoy; the Tennessee mixed ele-
ment OF white Democrats, negro Repub-
hcans and Union nondescripts, who arc
undecided what to do about suoh can
didate for Congress as Andrew johnson.
1t is curious town altogether, and all
by reason of its singular position. West
Virginia has sent commissioners to Eng
land to hunt up and overhaul certain
ancient maps in the British Colonial
Office. about which I hear tradition
that therein may be found the original
boundary line, giving Virginia five miles
more territory to the West than she now
possesses. 1 had glance at map in
Lynohburg over 200 years old, in which
the Chesapeake Bay is put down as the
Virginia sea; but this part of the coun-
try is left as hopelessly underlined as the
North pole. It will be we'll for this
town when its divided allegiance ceases
and one of the two States claim it in toto
For place of 5000 inhabitants, with no
grander commercial enterprise among
them than fugitive traffic in butter,
eggs and chickens, the burden of keep
ing two sets of municipal officers is
onerous.