Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-02-23
a,ecysrcnburg Boundnry Line.


To the Editor Of the Dispatch:
My attention was called a few days
ago 10 Senate bill No. 35i. to define and
mark the boundary-line between Meek
lenburg county, in Virginia, and Warren
Vance and Granville, in North Carolina,
| and to reject the report of commission
ers appointed under Act of Assembly ap-
| proved March 5. 1894 | Immediately wrote
to Senator Eggleston, the author of this
bin. requesting a copy Of said bill ana
! petition of certain citizens in respect 10
| same He very promptly forwarded
copy of the bill, but said the petition had
not been printed, the substance OF which,
| he stated. was that the commissioners
| had totally disregarded eminent land
marks, and that the establishment of
| said line would result in a loss Of from
| 20 TO % yards of territory along the
whole length of Mecklenburg. 1 am not
advised as TO who the petitioners are,
but presume that 1t originated from one
or more landowners, who were so I'M
fortunate as 10 have a strip cut off 10
the Carolina side. AS a large majority
of the people interested I'm this matter
are in utter ignorance, never having seen
the report Of the commissioners, deem
1t but proper, as one of the commission
ers representing the State of Virginia, to
make the following statement: When
the joint commission met to determine
upon the course of action, the great
trouble was to fix upon any point, that
we could clearly rely upon as a starting
point in the State line. Information was
sought both at Richmond and Raleigh,
but without success, the authorities at
Richmond even denying us the benefit Of
the notes of Greenleaf ana Howard, who
ran the line from Curritrick to Motto
way some six or eight years previous,
upon the grounds that they did not have
the right to allow them to be taken out
of States possession. 1 succeeded in OBJ
tanning a copy of "Byrds WestoVer
Notes" defining the line he ran some $50
years ago. After a close study of said
notes by myself and others Of the joint
commission, we determined upon one
point in the traditional line, as being so
clearly defined by Colonel Byrd as TO
leave no doubt in our minds of its. being
o true landmark. The engineers en-
ployed, while agreeing with commission
ers as to this point, asserted that 1t |
would be next to impossible to start at |
this point, near the centre Of Mecklen- |
burg line. and run line that would ac-
cord exactly with the line run by Green |
leaf and Howard previously referred 10, |
and expressed the opinion that the only |
way to get a true line would be to go 10
the point left off by Creenleaf and How
ard, at Nottoway river in the county of |
Southampton, and continue SAID line to
the Mecklenburg line.
The North Carolina commissioners re-
ported the opinions of the engineers to
the Governor of that State, who in
short while empowered them TO go to
Nottoway river and bring up the line |
The Virginia commissioners did not ac-
company them, having no authority 10
do SO. While waiting for Governor Cars |
reply, we started the survey at the point
agreed upon in the State line, saio point
being i'm my farm, in Palmer s-Spring
District, and ran east seven or eight
miles, when the North Carolina commits
sioners received authority to 60 10 Not
toway, and work was for the time stop
ped. When they reached the line be-
teen Mecklenburg and Warren, n. c., the
Virginia commissioners rejoined them and
continued the line on to the line of Hall
fax county, in Virginia.
A most remarkable fact, and one justi-
flying the commissioners I'm accepting the
starting point alluded to, was that when
the line from Nottoway river was brought
up to the starting point in Mecklenburg
1t missed it by only two or three feN
and along the whole line it was regarded
as a wonder that tradition had held so
close TO the true line for 100 years. The
statement said to be made in the petit
ton asserting a loss Of twenty TO TWEEN
ty-five yards of territory to Virginia the
whole way through the county is very
astonishing one, when the facts are
known. The commissioners, in their joint
report state that the difference in terri
tory cut off would be inconsiderable.
! have no more interest in the estab-
lishment of this line than any other citi-
zen, save that having accepted a
grave ma responsible trust, and having
devoted TO it my time and best energies,
feel unwilling to remain silent and al
low this action in ignorance Of the facts.
So far as l know, the new line gives 4
except in the community
from which this petition emanated. 1t
has settled the question long agitated,
Mecklenburg. Va, and Warren,
Y. c., i'm regard to a bridge held to be IN '
Virginia, but found to be in North Caro-
ina. S. Z. READ. !