The state chronicle. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1883-1893, 1886-10-07
BOUNDARY DISPUTE.
AN OMITTED CHAPTER NORTH
CAROLINA HISTORY
Mr. Daniel X. Good Ioe Records the Par
uculars OF AN important Boundary Dis
pute Between y. Carolina and t.eOTgI..

North Carolina and Of Georgia have failed
70 record the particulars Of an important
boundary dispute to which the two States
! We're parties, in the early years Of he
! present century. OF course those writer's
| whose narratives stop short Of the period
cannot be blamed for the omission This
Is true of Hawks, who made thorough work
as far as he went; but his valuable history
terminates with the transfer of authority
| by the Lords i'rOprletorS to the Crown, in
the year 1929, while Martin and William
| son only brought down their histories to
| the commencement of the Revolution.
| Jones wrote mere sketches Col Wheeler
| collected some valuable materials for his
tory, III his compilation of County Annals;
put he was far from exhausting the abun-
-dant stores of material to be found in the
court records-of every county; and he was
particularly unfortunate in overlooking
those of Buncombe. However, this should
be the work of county chroniclers upon
whom the general historian must rely
MI Moore, our latest historian, refers to-
ana dispatches this boundary dispute in
three lines, and ] fail TO recall any
reference to the affair in the valuable es
says and addresses of Governor Swain
The Georgia historians, in like aanner,
50 tar as ! have been ahla to ind, have
Iallfa tq make mention of the important
event. And yet, the materials for his
tory OF this border war are ample, and are
preserved III the most authentic form-that
OF Official documents | find them in the
annals OF Congress; and they may be seen
IN the laws and legislative proceedings Of
both North Carolina and Georgia
In 1902 the State of GEORGIA e.I1od to
the n'te6 StSty3 4e4 Westerl Territory
that IS to say, the territory which was
afterwards divided ana organized into the
States OF Alabama and Mississippi Among
the conditions of the cession was the
guarantee to the State Of GEORGIA y ,he
United Stats, of /, trayl of country West
Of South Carolina, and supposed to be
South Of the thirty fifth parallel Of la,i
tude, which was the recognized boundary
OF N0rth paf9ilpa, in lsu3 the State Of
Heorgla sent her Surveyor General to as
certain the extent and quality of The ter
rltory She had acquired ;he ascertained the
| boundaries to be at points ''that had long
been supposed BY South Carolina. and Il!
the precedent CLAIMS 70 lhiJ tract oI 5oun
| try. lhis is the statement made on the
! part ct the legislature Of Georgia, IN 2
memorial u Cnn.sfe.., asking r0r the in
| terventiOn or the general government in
her behalf, The eN pArte survey, if sur
vey was made, was followed up, immedi-
] ately by the extensiop pf tha laws apd
/ gO.e.nment OF the Atat4 over the neople
| ilhabitls,g the disputed territory The
memorial proceeds to state, that she
| tGeorglal then, with astOniShLnent, first
! heard that her claims We're to he resisted
| Oy %otth DafOltna, unless she Would agre5
to sanotion grants chat had been issued
! from the government of that State, and
which would swallow up the right of soil
1 through the whole evtRnt o. country y
! II fallogs froin THIS stEtcmetlt that the
| disputed territory was settled by North
Carolinians, and under North Carolina
authority, prior to the date # ,hp claim
set Gr ty ,h6 state or Georgia The sequal
viii show that the territory was clearly
within the recognized boundaries Of yorth
Carolina. - : : - :
It might De inferred from the foregoing
extract from the Georgia Memorial that
North Carolina was willing TO surrender
her territorial jurisdiction, on condition
that the grants of land made 10 her piti
zens, a tt4e aisppted terfitory, should be
| Recognised and confirmed. But this is
hardly probable. Yet it may be that North
Carolina indicated willingness to COM
promise the dispute. luckily fae her,
however, ,.earsia de lined to accept her
terms, and the Legislature Of that State in
the year 1903, chose commissioners t.
meet Others to be appointed by North Gar
olinS ~ run the b5updarry fine between
the two States The Governor Of North
Carolina responded fayofably 10 this prop
osltibn, and recommended it to the iseg!s-
latufe: An act was accordingly passed
in conformity with the proposed plan of
settlement; but coupled with a condition
which was unacceptable tp aeorala 4
sYbsequent Legislature, however. rooeded
ttOm the condition, and the terms Of set
1 tlpmpOt D)lltua1ly arraaI
all the formal solemnitv of Ieg;-latiYe
proceedings. "a p32ember 10TH 1906, the
Guyern0r of Georgia JARED Irwin, ESQ,
in a letter to the Governor Of North Caro-
lima, announced the appointment q three
commissioners, Viz. lhpMAs L. CARNEs
/ THoM4s FLoqRNOY and WILLIAM BARNETT
EsQfRs., ':to ASCERTAIN the 35th degree ol
North latitude, and plainly to mark the
dividing line between the States Of Nortl
Carolina and Georgia..
ana on January 1st, 1907, Governor
NATHANIEL ALEXANDER, of North Carolina
responded very oourteously, with an ex
preston Of qualification that measures hat
l been agreed upon WHICH, it might b,
: hoped, would lead to an amicable adjust
: ment 0i teFrItarial differences He alst
: announced the appointment of three com
mlssloners, viz: Messrs. JNo. STEELE, JNO
e MOORE and JAMES WILLBORN, on the par
OF North Carolina, to meet those Of Geor
h glai and N view 0f the Wild, and thipl
inhabited country in dispute, he propose,
: that the commissioners should meet a
:, Ashevllle, III Buncombe county. on tn
Goth of April following. This proposition
was accepted, except as to the date O
meeting, which was finally fixed at Iun
10Th.
lpe commissioners met at the place an
time agreed upon, and their first work wa
to settle the Feru.s an which they we're t
proceed. 10 this end they adopted an
; signed, under seal, with witnesses, thre
art cles. The first declares that the tel
y ritory of North Carolina and Georgia, q
far AS they adioia each ott.er,' 't'are. an
/ Ct right ought to be, separated by the 35t
degree of North latitude
l. The second article (Which seems to hay
been based on the assumption that ii
l. survey would sustaip ihr claims of Geo
1 gial states on the part of the Georg
y commissiohers, that they did .:not GO,
: slider their powers competent TO enter I'M
= any slipHlatluns which would bind Il
government of the said State to confir
d entries or grants of land heretofore mac
or obtained under the authority of tt
n n government of North Carolina, whit
III land, on the running Of the line, may
found to be within the State of Georgi
but they agree to recommend certain
the claims to the favorable considerable