Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1886-02-26

,
Lexington, in the county of Rock
bridge, was established. Extract
from the law:
"And be it further enacted, That
at the place which shall be appoint
ed for holding courts in the said
county of ROckbridge there shall be
laid of. a town, to be called Lex
ington, thirteen hundred feet in
length and ninehundredin in width. (a)
And in order to make satisfaction
to the proprietors Of the said land,
the clerk of the said county shall,
by order of the justices, issue a
witt directed to the sheriff COM
manding him to summon twelve
able and disinterested freehOlders
to meet on the said land on a GER
tain day, not under five nor over
ten days from the date, who shall
upon oath value the said land, in
so many parcels as there shall be
separate owners, which valuation
the sheriff shall return, under the
hands and seals of the said jurors,
to the clerks Office; and the JUS
tices, at laying their first county
levy, shall make provision for pay
ing the said proprietOrs their re-
spectiye proportions thereof; and
the property of the said land, on
the return of the said valuation,
shall be vested in the justices and
their Successors, one acre thereof
to he reserved for the use Of the
said county, and the residue to be
sold and conveyed by the said JUS
tices to any persons, and the money
arising from such sale to be applied
towards lessening the county levy:
and the public buildings for the
said county shall be erected on the
land reserved as aforesaid"
From this it appears that the
name of the town was fixed by law
before the site was marked ont.
MOOrefeld was also established
in the month of October, l77, in
the county of Hampshire, now the
seat of Justice for the county OF
Hardy. Extract from the act of
| Assembly:
"Whcreas, 1t hath been repre-
sented to this present General AS
sembly that the establishing town
on the lands of Conrad Moore, in
the county OF Hampshire, would be
of great advantage to the inhabit-
ants, by encouraging tradesmen to
settle amongst them;
"Be it, therefore, enacted, &c.,
That sixty-twO acres of land belong
ING to the said Conrad Moore, i'll
the most convenient place for a
town, be, and the same Is hereby
vested in Garret Vanmeter, Abe
Randall, Moses Hutton, jacob
Read, Jonathan Heath, Daniel Nc
Neil, and George Rennock, gentle
men, trustees, to be by them, OF
any four of them, laid out into lots
OF half an acre each, with conven
lent streets, which shall be and the
same is hereby established a towT
by the name Of MoOrefeld."
Martinsburg was established il
the month of October, l71S. Ex
tract from the law:
"Whereas, 1t hath been repre-
sented to this present General AS
sembly that Adam Stephen, Esq.
hath lately laid of one hundred
and thirty acres of land in th'
county of Berkeley, where the court
house now stands, in lots ant
streets for town, &c;
abe itenacted, &c, That the salt
orc hundred and thirty acres o
land laid out into lots and streets
, agreeable to a plan and surye,
r thereof made, containing the mum
Der OF two hundred and sixty-ninl
, lots, as, by the said plan and sur
ycy, relation thcreuntO being had
may more fully appear, be and tb'
, same is hereby vested i'll Jane
MAlister, Joseph Mitchell, An
thony Noble, James Strobe, ROber
Carter Willis, VIM. Patterson anC
Philip PcndletOn, gentlemen, truS
tees, and shall be established ;
? town by the name of Martinsburg.
The town was named after tn,
{ late Col. 7. Il. Martin.
Tradition relates that an animal
ed contest took place between th'
late Gen. Adam Stephen and Jacol
IIite, Esq, in relation to fixing tn
seat of justice for this county; Hit,
contending for the location thereo
on his own land, at what is nov
called LeetOwn, in the county o
jefferson, Stephen advocating
Martinsburg. Stephen prevailed
and Hlte became so disgusted ant
dissatisfied, that he sold out his fn'
estate, and removed to the frontier
of South Carolina. Fatal remove
He had not been long settled il
that state, before the Indians mur
dered him and several of his fami
ly in the most shocking aud tarba
rous manner. (b) 1t Is said thai
the evening before this bloody
massacre took place, an Indian
squaw, who was much attached II
Mrs. Ilite, (c) called on her an'
warned her of the intended massa-
ere, and advised her to remove