Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1889-08-02
A BIT OF LOCAL HISTORY.

deiphla and Carilsle, fennsylsdhid,
seeking settlement in the rich valley
of the Shenandoah.
A few of these, as early as 1872,
halted on the banks of the Potomac
and started the village of Mechlen-
burgh, while the rest continued their
course and settled the towns of Win
chester. Strawsburgh, Woodstock and
Luray, further up the Valley.
The first official mention of the
town of Mecklenburgh is to be found
in the Acts of the House Of Burgesses,
in the first year of the reign of George
iii. November A. d. 1862, wherein is
found an act granting the privilege of
forming a town by the name of Neck
lenburgh. 1t reads as follows:
|. Whereas, it is represented to this
present General Assembly that
Thomas Shepherd, of the County of
Frederick, hath laid off about fifty
acres of his land on Potowmack river,
in the said County, into lots and
streets for town, and hath disposed
of many of said lots. the purchasers
whereof have made their humble APP
plication that the said land may be
established town, being pleasantly
and commodously situated for trade
and commerce."
III. BE 1t therefore enacted by tie Lieu
tenant Governor, Council and BTgesseS, Of
this General Assembly, and 1t is hereby
enacted by the authority Of the same: That
the lots and streets so laid of on the
said land be and are hereby coEstitu-
ted, appointed, erected and established
a town. to be called by the name OF
Mecklenburgh. and that the freehold
ers and inhabitants of said town, so
soon as they shall have built upon
and saved their said lots, according
to the conditions of their deeds of
conveyance, shall then be entitled to
and have and enjoy the same prlvl-
leges. rights and advantages which
the freeholders and inhabitants of
other towns erected by act OF Assem-
bly, in this Colony do at present
enjoy.
No incorporators are named in this
act, which seems TO be only an ena-
bling act. and the presumption Is, as
no use seems to have been made OF
the charter, that the freeholders and
inhabitants failed ito build upon and
save said lots according 10 the condl-
tons of conveyance, and hence this
act of incorporation became null and
void. The first act under which the
CORPORATION Of the town seems 70 have
taken form, bears date December :,
1893. and is as follows:
l. Be it enacted by the General AS
seublv of Virginia, that it shall be
lawful for the freeholders housekeep-
ers and free male persons above the
are of twentv-one years, who shall
have been residing in the town OF
Mecklenburgh and County OF Berke-
lev one wear next preceding the cleo
ton. to meet in some convenient place
i'm said town annually, on the first
Monday in April, and then aud there
elect seven fit and able men, being
freehoIders and inhabitants of said
town. to serve as trustees thereof, and
the persons so elected shall choose
out of their body President, whose
of April following.
The first trustees chosen were
Abram Shepherd, Henry Bedinger,
Conrad Byers, Jacob Haynes, John
Morrow, Henry Line and William
Chapline, who held their first meeting
June 3Oth 1894, and elected Abram
Shepherd their first President. Among
the first acts of the trustees was to
place posts and ratings along the out
side of the footways on both sides OF
German street from Mill street to
Duke street and both sides of Princess
street from Washington street to
Rocky street, the posts to be of locust
4 inches thick and 10inches in breadth;
the rails 3 X inches and ten feet long
and to be placed three feet above the
pavements; the porches and cellar
doors not TO project more than AZ feet
and the pavements TO be ten feet
wide. The first levy made was 30
cents on the one hundred pounds and
% cents on each tithable, which
amounted to 1888. -, Of which S114.70
was collected. The early fathers, like
those of later date, had great deal
of trouble about hogs and geese run
ming at large on the streets, ana an
ordinance was passed requiring all
hogs and geese running in the streets
to be taken up and placed in pound
made at the head of New street. where
the old jail stood, and the owners
were required to pay 10 cents for
goose and % cents for hog to have
them released from the pound.
The limits Of the town under this
charter were Rocky street on the
North, Mill street on the East, Church
alley on the South and Shoe-lane on
the West, but January II, 1882 the
Charter was amended and the limits
of the corporation enlarged and the
name changed from Mecklenburgh to
Shepherdstown The act reads thus:
|. Be it enacted by the General AS
sembly, that the several lots adjOin
ing the town of Mecklenburgh, in the
County of Berkeley, as they have
been respectively laid-of on the lands
of Henry Cookus, William Brown,
John Morrow and Richard Henderson
and Company; also, the grounds lying
immediately between said town and
the waters edge of the Potomac river,
shall be and they are hereby added
to and made part of said town TO all
intents and purposes.
Ill. The said town Of Mecklen-
burg shall hereafter be called and
known by the name Of Shepherds
Town
The following were elected the first
trustees of Shepherdstown: John
kearsley, Jacob Haynes, Jacob Smurr,
n