Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1886-06-01
Old and Interesting.

Mr.. John t. Hill has placed in our
hands very interesting document, in
the shape of a fragment of an old
paper which contains an advertise
ment offering for sale the property OF
General George Washington. The
property is offered at private sale, by
the executors-Samuel Washington,
of Culpeper county; George S. Wash
ington, of jefferson; William A.
Washington, of Westmoreland (; Geo.
w. P. GUSTS, of Mt. Washington,
Fairfax county; Bushrod Washing
ton, of Mt. Vernon; and Lawrence
Lewis, of Wood Lawn-and embraces
tracts of land in Loudoun, Fauquier,
Jefferson, Hampshire and Nansemond
counties, in Virginia; Charles and
Montgomery counties, in Maryland
in Pennsylvania, New York, North
western Territory, (now ohio,) and
Kentucky; also lots in the City of
Washington, Alexandria, Winchester
and Bath or Warm Springs. OF the
land offered in jefferson the adver-
tjsement reads:
A tract on the south fork of Bull
skin, containing 1900 acres; one also,
head of Evans mill, containing 453
acres: and one on Wormley's line,
containing 1873 acres. These several
tracts are in Jefferson late Berkeley
county-the soil very similar in quail
ity, and particularly adapted to the
culture of tobacco, hemp, wheat and
Indian corn, situated twelve miles
from Harper's Ferry.
Theparagraph relating to the Hamp-
shire county tract shows that at that
early date the idea of the navigation
of the upper Potomac river was en-
tertained, as read the following:
One tract in Hampshire county,
containing 24O acres. This tract,
though small. is extremely valuable
1t lies on Potomak river, about II
miles above the town of Bath Cor
Warm Springs and is in the shape
of horseshoe, the river running al
most round it; two hundred acres of
it are rich low grounds, with great
abundance of the largest walnut and
other trees, which, with the produce
of the soil, might (by means of the
improved navigation of the Potomak)
be brought to shipping port with
more ease and at q smaller expense,
than that which is transported only so
miles by land.
The newspaper fragment to which
we here refer has no portion of the
heading and bears no mark of the
year or place of publication, except
in a bankrupt notice, from which we
gather that it is the Baltimore Federal
Gazette, of date October 80, 1902
" Sundry lots on Jones' Falls" are
advertised for sale by Richard Law
son; also " Burnett's Oyster-House,
No. 76, Bond street, Fell's Point"
John Thomas publishes notice say
ing: 81 intend to petition the next
general assembly for an act to relieve
me from debts which am unable to
pay" Cologne mill stones, Holland
gin and Bandanna handkerchicfs are
grouped together in one advertise
ment. The arrival of Thomas
Paine, author of the Age of Reason"
in the ship London Packet, from
Havre-de- Grace, is announced. The
only reading matter to be found is
portion of a lengthy article ("to be
continued") denouncing the admins
tration of Mr.. jefferson, and declar-
ing his object to be " nothing less
than to eneryate the general govern
ment and prepare it to become an
easy prey to the aspiring ambition of
a large and powerful ate"-Virginia
being evidently referred to.