The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1898-10-06
BOUNDARY SETTLED.
Line Between AIlegany and Garrett
Counties at Last Determined.

Line Between AIIegany and Garrett
Counties at Last Determined
WORK OF THE GEOLOGICAL SIR Nfsl
Under Supervision OF DF. 4. Al lsaAefy Chief
of Division. A Yezed lkestfon Whici,
Has Kept Offcia1s ~ 4; gadofy since
1879. The Tria1li1 81 \ h Iou1 <ffhod Used
as Most Prsef jca3l<
The Maryland 3s6Iogie1 Survey
Monday issued 4 volume from the
Johns Hopl<ins ,r6ss which settles
permanentls pestiou which has
been Is aizp1<e since The establish
ment OF Garrett county by the Cen
eral Assembly of 1872 The work is
the Report On the Survey of the
Boundary Line Between Allegany
and Garrett Counties" and is the
history of the summers work Of DR..
l.. A. Bauer chief of division OF ter
restrial magnetism of the Maryland
state survey.
The survey was the outcome OF an
act of Legislature of 1898, "to provide
for the definite establishment and To-
cation of the boundary line between
Allegany and Garrett counties. in
order to bring under the assessment
law certain untaXed lands in said
counties The Governor, being en-
powered by Section I of the act to
appoint the civil engineer in charge,
and desiring that the work should be
done in as thorough manner as pos
sible, and in accordance with modern
and approved methods, requested the
Maryland Geological Survey, through
its representative, Prof. William
Bullock Clark, to undertake the sur
vey of the desired boundary line.
Prof. Clark accepted the Governors
proposal and referred the execution
of the work to Dr. Bauer's division.
Section | of the original act. from
which all trouble of boundary line
originated, enacted: THAT all that
part of Allegany county lying north
and west of a line beginning at the
summit of Big Back Bone, or Savage,
mountain, where that mountain is
crossed by Mason and Dixon's line,
and running thence by straight line
to the nearest point or boundary of
the state of West Virginia, then with
the said boundary to the Fairfax
Stone, shall be new county, to be
called the county of Garrett"
In consequence of the act of 1872,
two attempts were made to define the
boundary line, one in 1872 by Mr.. Dan
Chisholm, and the other in 1878 by
Mr.. John Harmed, county surveyor
for Garrett county, both of which
failed in obtaining correct result.
Mr.. Chisholm used a compass, and, it
is said planted his tripod in the mid
die of the mouth of Savage river and
ran by the needle N. 260 E. By this
his line came out on the Little Savage
mountain, 4,307 feet, or four -fifths of
mile, west of the summit of the
Great Savage mountain, where it is
crossed by the Mason and Dixon line,
the initial point called for in the act.
This, however, was only intended as
trial line, it being his intention to
run second and final line on a cor
rected course, an intention which was
never carried out.
In the survey directed by Mr..
Harmed, Mr.. John Schaidt, surveyor
for Allegany county, was present.
Mr.. Harmed used compass, mounted
on a Jacobs staff, and begun lat
stonepile on summit of Savage noun
tain, where crossed by Mason and
Dixon line" The course he ran
brought him out at Westernport,
considerably to the east of the ter
minal point, the mouth of the Savage
river. 1t is stated that he ran a sec
ond line on a corrected course. His
prepared map of this line was filed
with the county commissioners of
Garrett, but his work was not adopt
ed by either county.
Judging from former results and
following directions as defined by the
act of 1898, Dr. Bauer decided to dis
regard all previous surveys and exist
ing marks and determine the line
anew, in conformity with the provis-
ions of the original act.
The boundary line begins at point
on top of the Great Savage mountain,
where that mountain is crossed by
the dividing line between Maryland
and Pennsylvania, and runs thence
to the middle of the mouth of the
Savage river, 1876 miles distant, and |
across the Potomac river, 1911 feet, to
the nearest point of West Virginia
boundary. The problem then was to
connect by straight line to non-in-
tervisible points, one on top of a
the other in the middle of |
-, Al. i