The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1902-12-12
THE NEWBERRY-LAURENS LINE.
A Case in the Laurens Court Places the
Boundary Line of the Two Counties
In Doubt.

The trial, in the Court Of Common
Pleas for Laurens county, of the case
of the Equitable Building and Loan
Association, of Augusta, Ca, VS..
George F. Young, defendant, resulting
in a mistrial on Tuesday morning, has
developed the fact that the line be-
tween Newberry and Laurens
counties which for a hundred years or
more has been regarded by the people
of both counties as the true line, may
have been incorrectly fixed many years
ago by the changing of a public road.
If this be true, a new survey will be
necessary and even then there is very
much doubt as to whether or not the
true line can be found.
This question is n of considerable
Importance, in that it may involve the
town of Whitmires and the large COT
ton mill located there. This property
under the present boundaries, is in
Newberry county, and pays taxes &C
cordingly.
The following statement of the facts
in the case is from the Laurens CORE
spondent of the News and Courier:
briefly, the facts of the case are:
George F. Young conveyed to the build
ing association all that part of a tract
of land lying in the two counties II
Laurens County, the Newberry part re-
naming in his possession. By a stat
ute enacted soon after the Revolution
ary war the public highway between
Island Ford, on the Saluda, and Odells
| Ford, on Enoree, was made the county
| dividing line. On the part of the tract
now in Young's possession is a large
brick house andvaluable tenant houses.
The tract is known as the Brick House
tract, and far back in the ffties it was
the residence of DR.. Gaines, a man OF
prominence in his generation. 1t al
forwards became the property Of Mr..
Young's grandfather, Samuel Young
also a leading man in his time and one
of the largest land owners in this part
of South Carolina. Mr.. G. F. Young
claims that the brick house and apurte-
nant houses are in Newberry, and were
not conveyed. Now the house stands
on the northern, or Laurens, side OF
the public road leading from Island
Ford to Odell's Ford, and the plaintiffs
claim that it is in Laurens. In answer
to this it is held that long ago the OLD
roadway was changed and that the
present road is totally different from
what it was in the early days OF the
18th. or latter days Of the 18th century
The point developed is that nobody
knows exactly where the line is. That
the change in the road was made IS es
tablished, but whether or not at TINS
particular spot, where the big orlcE
house stands, is not-at least, the jury
could not agree on that point. 1t wa
further developed that as early as lSV
a commission of six members was ap
pointed by the Legislature, OF tn
Courts, to determine the county boun
darv and the names of the commls
~sioners, three from each county, are o.
record. but there is no record OF an!
report they may have made. Ther
was also testimony that DR.. Gaines wa
IA candidate for the State Senate
= NewberryC County, in about 1854, agalnS
, .John P. Kinard. DR.. Gaines then live
in the house, but there was other tes
timony that DR.. Gaines a Tor Tn
n LEGISLATURE in Laurens County. MOS
q If the older citizens of the vicinity WI
e were examined testified that the nous
had been regarded as standing IN New
e berry. but there was some testimony
the contrary. One witnoss said that
t had heard the opinion expressed that Il
line ran through the hall of the hou
and that the indwellers cooked in Ne'
t. berry and dined in Laurens, or vi
D. versa, as they chose. Acting JUDI
Carev ruled that a change in the loc
ton of the road after the passage OFT
Act fixing the boundary would n
change the boundary. The question
wolves, of course, graver issues tn
those Of the Building and Loan Assoc
ton against Young. For example,
town of Whitmire's, with its great G
=. ton mill, national bank and
10 movements, now counted as in Ne
,ss berry, may, after all, be in Laurens
~, # he established that the old road "
further to the southeast. Other val
be BILE property along the line OF the ro
49, for a distance of forty miles, may
iii involved. 1t may be necessary for
LEGISLATURE to intervene, and a bill
,ro the appointment of a commission
complete the apparently unfinished
of the commission of 1907 may be I'M
duced. Besides, it has been Whlspe
that the people of Whitmire's are de
OILS of a new county, with Within
Of as the Court House town, and 1t IS
,ity impossible that they may propose
lere new county as a method OF cutting
ing Gordian knot and preventing war
am tween the people of Newberry and
Use. rens, so far as the border line on