Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1892-05-20
Settling The Line.

MEETING OF THE AUGUSTA AND ROCK
INGHAM JOINT COMMISSION NEAR sHEN-
DUN = ORGANIZATION HEARING OF
sTATEMENTs-A FURTHER HEARING
TO BE HAD, sc.
On Tuesday last, the two Commissions
appointed by the county courts of Angus
ia and Rockingham to settle the disputed
line between the counties, met at the Cave
Hotel near Shendun.
The Augusta Commission is composed
of Messrs. Jos. A. Waddell, Z. NJ. Smiley
and Chas. s. Roller. 1t had with it MI.
Jas. r. McCutchen, the County Surveyor
of Augusta, and MI. Howe Y. Cochran who
has made very thorough research into the
past history of the line.
The Rockingham Commission is com
posed of Messrs. Geo. B. Keezell, g. r.
Nichols and T. K. Harnsberger. 1t had
with it MI. J. Hawse the county Surveyor
of Rockingham.
The Commissioners organized the joint
Commission by the election of MI. Geo. B.
Keezell President, and MI. J. A. Waddell
Secretary.
The joint Commission heard statement
from Mr.. Cochran regarding the Act OF
the General Assembly and traditional &C
counts bearing on the dispute.
Mr.. Hawse made statement Of what
Rockingham claimed and the authority on
which the claim was rested.
Mr.. McCutchen made a similar state
ment in behalf of the county of Augusta.
Mr.. Edmund P. Ruffin, President Of the
Grottoes Land Co., was present, and made
strong statement in favor of the Augusta
claim, based on his researches into the
matter.
The Commissioners went up to the
mouth of Middle River, which Mr.. Halves
claimed should be the starting point of the
survey. 1t seems that about the year TIT
the General Assembly OF Virginia passed
an act providing for Commissioners to di-
vide Augusta county beginning at point
in South Mountain and running by Benz.
Yardley's plantation to point below ames
Byrd's house on North River; thence with
the same to the mouth of Naked Greek
and Cunningham Branch, and thence
North 55 w. to the Allegheny mountains. !"
This line of division extends from the Blue
Ridge Mountain to point in what is now
Pendleton county, w. Va. To this act
Rockingham paid no attention and appoint
ed no Commissioners under it. Augusta,
however, carried it into effect by appoint
ing Commissioners in ITS.
Under the act Augusta county appoint
ed Messrs. Kinney and Stevenson Commits
sioners to run the line, with Poague as
County Surveyor. They ran the line about
the year 1896. That is the line which can
not now be officially identified, nor can any
official record Of it be found in Poague's
papers except a charge against Augusta
county for services for running the same,
which was ordered by the County Court to
be paid.
But in 1928, after Poague's death, W.
A. Bell, who had been his assistant, (but
not in running that ine), was Or
dered by Augusta county to retrace this
papers accompanying it are in the posses
sion OF the Augusta Commission. He
started his line at the ford Of Beard OF By
ard OIL Baird OF Bird-for the name was
spelled in all these ways in that day-which
is held to be the Byrd named in the old Act
of Assembly, and crossed Middle River II
poles South Of it's junction with North Riv-
er He found 10 marked trees between
Middle River and South River, one marked
A on one side and r on the other. and 6
marked trees between South River and the
mountain and deeming that sufficient evil
dence that he had retraced the original line
of Peague, he did not follow it up into the
mountain. Augusta county claim is that
this line of Bell's is Poague's original line
retraced. Rockingham claims that there
is no sufficient proof that this is Poague's
original line.
The Joint Commission decided to adjourn
until Thursday, j une 9th, for a further hear
ing Of the matter.