Carolina watchman. [volume] (Salisbury, N.C.) 1871-1937, 1906-09-19
SOME ANCIENT HISTORY
Regarding the Width Of the Streets, Size
Of CITY Lots. etc.

lCb uCoU VI LIN hiNSAoo1 &oCo "
an County, executed a deed to
William Churton and Richard
Vigers for six hundred and thirty
five acres of land. and on the
18th day of February, 1855, Will
liam Churton and Richard Vi
gers executed a deed in trust to
James Carter and Hugh Fos-
ter, trustees, for the township
of Salisbury, fol- the said
six hundred and TIL r t y-fi e
acres of land, and said Carter and
Foster under said trust deed were
required to execute a deed to the
following gentlemen: Alexander
Osburn, John Brandon, John Bre-
ward, Walter Caruth, Andrew AL
lison, Joseph Tate, George Smith.
Johnathan Hunt, Al d e +
CatEey, Squire Boone, John Han
by, Edward Hughes, Robert ST.
monton, Thomas Potts, William
Morrison, William Buis an d
Christopher Nation, EsquiGes,
Justices of the Peace of the coun-
ty of Rowan, for the half lot on
which the old jail now stands,
and for the Diamond, OF what is
now known as the public square,
being the land included in q line
running from the old Mansion
Hotel corner to the corner of
Kluttz's Drug Store, thence to the
corner of Max Moses Grocery
Store, thence to the corner of the
Davis Il Wiley Bank and thence
to the beginning.
The Court House, office and
stocks stood on the diamond.
The trustees, Garter and Foster,
we're required to make deeds to all
persons who had entered lots and
paid twenty shillings to John
Whitsett. Treasurer, ~reserving to
Earl Granville one shilling an
nual rent from each lot.
The records, as far as they have
been examined, show that the
town extended southwest down
(Corbin street them Main street
now, five squares, with an alley
or roadway one rod wide on the
fifth square, and extended north.
east with the aforesaid. street six
squares, with an alley or roadway
one rod wide on the outside OF
the sixth square.
On lines street the town ex.
ted northwest and southeast four
squares.
The records show that the plan
for the town was arranged by the
consent Of Earl Granville before
the deeds to Churton and Vigers
and Carter and Foster were exc
cuted.
The town was first divided into
four great squares, North, South,
East and West, and these great
squares were divided into squares
twenty-four poles square, and each
square was divided into four lots,
twelve poles square and the deeds
for over half the lots have been
examined, and thew show that
every lot sold was by No.-in the
great North, South, East or West
square, containing one hundred
and forty-four square poles, rods
0r perches.
The Corbin and Innes streets
were each six rods or poles wide,
and all of the other streets three
rods or poles each wide. This
makes Main and Times streets
each nlnety-nine feet wide, and
all the other streets forty-nine
and one-half feet wide.
The squares should all be three
hundred and n~inety-six fe g
square, and each lot should be
one hundred and ninety-eight
feet square.
The town of Salisbury, N. c.,
was beautifully arranged, with
nice wide streets but in some few
places we e the spirit of GRAFT
reaching out and taking that
which proparly belongs to the pub
lie, and the city aldermen should
see to it that Lo one should in
trude one inch upon the streets.
There is not anything that adds
more to the beauty of a town
than broad streets, and a case re-
Gently decided before the Supreme
Court shows that the Board of
Aldermen can not g1ve any one a
valid right to build on and occu-
Ply a portion of any street, and 1T
is claimed by some able lawyers
that o Board of Aldermen that
permits a party to build in the
street is liable to that party who