The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1889-08-30
HARFoRD's LOST TOWNS.

HARFoRD's LOST TOWNS.
In conclusion have suggestion TO make
which hope will meet with the approval OF
the Society. There are some half dozen lost
towns within the limits of the county, which
with one or two exceptions could be re.
constructed Ton paper of course) by the exer.
else of little industry and enterprise Three
of them were the county seats of Balti.
more county before the division. Old Baltis
more, the town in Forsler's Neck, and Joppa.
The others were Eden Town. Washington
| Tor Otter Point) the town on the land called
Chibury and Hartford Town Tor Bush) the
first County seat of Hartford. The sites of all
these, except the t&wn in Forster's Neck,
that at Chilbury, and Eden Town, are we'll
known. The first-named is supposed TO have
been Il mile or two below JOppa, on the Gun.
! powder; Chillbury somewhere on Bush
River, probably near its head, though ii was
| possibly Old Baltimore named anew, after it
ceased to be the county seat or the site of
Eden Town know absolutely nothing. Pluts
were certainly made Joppa, Hartford Town,
Washington and Eden Town, for such pats
are referred to in the Hartford county records;
and the great probability is that all the others
were plated And even if such plats cannot
be found the towns can be again correctly
laid out from information to be obtained
among the records here and elsewhere and
even the names of most, If not all, of the
owners of the lots at different dates, NAV be
ascertained from the same source, so that they
may not only be rebuilt, but re-peopled
To prove my assertions, / will give few
items which have obtained without having
this special object in view from our own
county records alone, which extend back no
further than 1774 OF course those of Balt-
more county would supply us with great
deal of information about the three old coun.
tyscals, though as to the town on Forster's
Neck, fear it is a desperate case even though
we search the land office at Annapolis, which
we certainly should do.
OF Old Baltimore have as yet but sin.
gle extract for guidance, but it is enough to
show that much may be done. In the will
OF James Phillips, who died in 1903, ID the fol.
| lowing:
Il give and devise to my son James Phil.
lips, Jr, here he names nine contiguous
tracts of land which are to be thrown into
one survey circumscribed and bounded as
follows: Beginning at a locust post on the
bank of Bush River next to James Osborn's,
being a boundary the Court House land and
running and bounding on Bush River" and
so on. This shows that by getting the courses
and distances of the old surveys thereabouts,
We can almost certainly locate exactly the
! acre or two on which stood the first perman-
ent Court House of Baltimore county. That
locust post is doubtless gone, but we can as
certain where it stood, and that spot was the
corner Of the Court House land
In the case of Joppa, the original plat is
extant of which have taken COPY. The
stone marked as the beginning is still stand.
ing, for have lately seen it. The town was
laid off In rectangular figure, so that the
bearing and distance of but one of its sides,
together with the plat and the beginning
stone, would be sufficient data from which
to lay off again the whole town; but
besides these, have the bearings and dis
tances of many of the lines of lots
Here is an extract which will enable US to
lay off the Court House at Bush Tor Hartford
TOWN. almost without chain or compass
Feb. 1910, the executors of Thomas Hall con.
veyed to David Maulsby one-acre lot in
Hartford Town which had been decided in
1889 by Ann McComas to William Bradford,
and commonly known by the name of the
Old Court House and store House lot, begin
ming on the west side ofthe main road where
| Isaac Websters lot ends, thence straight
down the west side of said road towards
Bynum's Run, ten perches in breadth, thence
straight up said run sixteen perches thence
straight towards James run ten perches,
thence sixteen perches to the be.
ginning" That is as plain as pike-staff,
and would be as easy to do as rolling off of
log. For, in order to get the point of begin
ming (the end OF Webster's lot) we have only
to measure reversely ten perches from the
intersection of Bynum's run and the main
road.
Another deed informs US that Market
street and King street run at right angles to
each otLer and are sixteen and a-half perches
apart. have similer extracts relating to the
other lost towns, but will not occupy your
time with them. think it advisable that
committee should be appointed, one of
whom should have some knowledge of
surveying, who, after sufficient data have
been gathered, should repair to the several
spots, do what they can in the way of recon-
struction, and briug in their report, accom-.
panied with plat or map of each site.--
Especially do think this our duty with re.
gard to Old Baltimore and Joppa. And it
would be well to explore Forster's Neck for
the site of the town once there. A reporter
of the Baltimore Day visited that Neck few
| years since and seems TO have found the eX.
act site, which he says Is marked by knoll
of trees and some mounds overgrown with
brambles." AS regards Hartford Town, it
presents such an easy case that its recon.
struction may well be postponed until the
others are reclaimed Washington | visited
last spring and found il still living sleepy
sort OF life and consisting principally of one
or two dwellings, a very old warehouse and
great many fishing boats and nets, but
alas adams Street" and all the other
streets with ilustrious names are gone. AS
to Edentown and Chillbury, we can perhaps
afford to let them rest in their graves, though
| it would be more creditable to ascertain at
least the precise spots of their burial.
lfthe Society do not think 1t expedient to
appoint such committee, perhaps they will
favor the holding ola Society meeting at Old
Baltimore or Joppa, to which, besides their
usual invitation to the public, special invita-
tions might be sent to such persons as are
supposed to have the kind of information we
are in search of-especialy as to the bounds
of old tracts, &c.
BY happy coincidence, after Ihad written
out the above suggestions TO explore these
old town.sile|, | received letter from the
Rev. George A. Leakin, of Baltimore, In
which he says:
II venture to ask ifa
meeting of your Hartford Historical could
not be held at Old Baltimore? Invitations
might be sent to various localities. Some
would probably come from Cecil, Others from
Baltimore, aud could get some ofour Mary
land Historical to come from the 9th Balt-
more Altogether, think that the occasion
might be made quite interesting, and result
IN developing much now unknown, or un-
certain.
This is certainly good suggestion. 1t is,
of course Tor the Society to say whether or
not it he adopted in preference to the one
which have otfered-though there 10 no in
consistency involved in the two plans, l do
not see why they may not be advantageous
ly combined.
would, however, further suggest, that In
any case, the meeting shall not take place
until the latter part of October-as other
wise, apprehensions from malaria might deter
many who live at distance from attending.
FINS
Fraddy IN thu Rascua