The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1898-09-01
GARRETT AND ALLEGANY.
Surveys To Settle The Disputed
Boundary Line AS Ordered
By The Legislature.
GARRETT GAINS TERRITORY.
FrOstburg Waterworks Not In ALLIE
gany County.

| Three-FOurths of a Mile of Border Land
Added to Garrett COunty-Defects of
the old Survey Corrected by Triangular
LONESOME Interesting Results.
A special from Oakland to the Bal
timore San of Tuesday says:
Garrett county was created by the
act of 1872, chapter 212. The dividing
line between Allegany and Garrett
counties, as fixed by that act, is "a
line beginning at the summit of Big
Backbone or Savage mountain, where
that mountain is crossed by Mason
and Dixon's line, and running thence
by straight line to the middle of
Savage river where it empties into
the Potomac river"
! By the terms of this act the county
surveyor of Allegany county located
the dividing line, but it has always
been contended by some of the citi-
zens of Garrett county that the line
was not correctly run, and was not,
in fact, run from the summit of Big
Backbone or Savage mountain, but
on the contrary, the surveyor begun
at point on Mason and Dixon's line
west of the summit of Big Backbone
mountain, and that thereby a con
siderable portion of territory which
of right belongs to Garrett county is
east of the line as located The Legis-
lature last winter passed an act which
is chapter 304 of the acts of 1898, pro-
viding for the appointment by the
neer to mark and establish the divid-
ing line between the two points fixed
by the act of 1872, chapter 212.
DR.. L. A. Bauer and w. McCulloch
Brown, who located the line between
Maryland and West Virginia year
ago, have been for some time past
engaged in locating the county line
and doing the work designated by
the act of 1898. Dr. Bauer was seen
| by The Sun correspondent this morn
ing, and he states that the work will
| be completed in three or four days.
He says the line as originally located
| did not begin at the summit of Big
Backbone mountain, but at the sum
NIT of Little Backbone mountain,
which is three quarters of a mile west
! Ton Mason and DiXon's line) of the
point designated by the act of 1872.
The new line which is now being
located will take from Allegany coun-
ty tlatiron-shaped piece of land
three-fourths of mile wide on the
Pennsylvania line and running to
point at Bloomington, on the b. & O.
Nearly all this territory was under
| laid with coal and was at one time
very valuable, but Dr. Bauer reports
that nearly all the coal has been taken
out and that the land is not now of
much value. The line was originally
run with a surveyors compass.
| but the engineer now in charge
of the work says it is impossible to
correctly locate it with a compass. as
| there is not a point on the entire line
which was not effected by local at
traction of the needle, and at Savage
river, whore the surveyor originally
begun, he saws the variation caused
| by local attraction amounted to
threequarters of a degree. DR.. Bauer
also says the work was much more
difficult than the running of the
Maryland and West Virginia line, as
he was compelled to run the entire
line by triangulation and was unable
to rely upon the needle at all.
He says the Frostburg waterworks
are in Garrett county by the new line
If the matter is finally adjusted ac-
cording to the locations now being
made, Garrett county will acquire
some additional territory, but it is
doubtful whether she will gain so
much in her assessable basis as many
of the people have, however, been led
to believe. 1t is said the people in
the disputed territory are very much
opposed to becoming citizens of Gar