The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1909-02-25
THE MARYLAND--WEST
VIRGINIA BOUNDARY LINE
West Virginia Engineer Has Filed
Final Maps.


Terra Alta, w. Va, contained the fol-
lowing last Thursday relative to the
Mary West Virginia boundary line
case:
Civil Engineer Julius X. Monroe, of
Kingwood, Monday SCI to Senator
George E. Price, at Charleston, the
final maps he has prepared in the case
of the State of Maryland against the
State of West Virginia in the old dis
pute over the line between that part of
the two states joining Garrett and Pres
ton counties.
The case has been before the United
States Supreme Court for fifteen years
or more and according to reports from
Baltimore and Annapolis will be pushed
to conclusion this year. 1t involves a
strip Of territory thirty-six and one half
miles in length and from three-quarters
of a mile to a few feet in width
Senator Price was retained by West
Virginia to assist the Attorney General
in opposing the claims of Maryland,
when the suit was brought. 1t is under
stood that Attorney General William
G. Conley and Senator Price have the
defense prepared and that it is an eX-
ceedingly strong one.
The basis of the contention originated
IN Revolutionary war time, when a sur
veyor, William f. Deakins, was sent
to run the line between Virginia and
Maryland. He plunged into the wilder
ness, found the point at which he was
to start, the famous Fairfax Stone,
and turned his face to the north, in
which direction he was to mark a line to
the Pennsylvania border.
In due time he reported his work as
finished, and his line went on the rec
ords as the true one between that part
of the two states. Settlers were COM
ing in from the East, purchasing and
patenting lands, building homes and
making clearings to till the soil, and
the Deakins line was generally and with
confidence accepted by all But at a
much later date suspicion arose that
Deaklns, honest old surveyor that he
was, had erred in his calculate tons and a
few years befo the Civil war Mary
land and Virginia named a joint Com
mission to consider the reports to this
effect. The Commission obtained from
the Federal Government the services of
Lieutenant Michler, of the U. S. Army
Engineering Corps. and instructed him
to ''retrace and remark" the Deakins
line
Michler sought the starting place, the
Fairfax Stone, at the south point of the
border between the two States, and
set up his transit. AS he moved along
he found that he could not maintain a
course due north and follow the Deakins
calls and it became evident to him that
the original surveyor had not allowed
correctly for magnetic variation.
Lieutenant Mlchler then repor ed to
the commission, and the members for
Maryland insisted that he should ignore
the Deakins line and make new one
which should be due north and south. "
Virginia S members objected, declaring
that as long period of time had eIaps-
ed since Deakins had made the authori-
tive survey, and as revision at such a
late date would unsettle land titles and
inconvenience and embarrass many citi-
zens and property owners, it would be
wrong and illegal and unprecedented to
mark out new line. But the Mary
landers were obstinate, and the Vir-
ginians withdrew from the commission.
Lieutenant Michler was then employed
by Maryland to run a new line. He did
50, and the long disputes was formally
started
When West Virginia was admitted
into the Union in 1863, this state inner
tied the bone of contention. AS Vir-
glnia had done before her, West Vir-
ginia rested on the ancient Deakins
line, and continues to defend it against
Maryland suit.
Property holders in the disputed strip
have been harassed not a little by the
aggressor In the quarrel, it is declared.
1t is said that some of the residents
claim they are citizens of Maryland,
though the majority accepts the ancient
and original line as the true one.
j. S. Lakin owns several tracts of
land in the disputed strip. In one IN
stance he pays taxes in both Maryland
and in West Virginia, to be on the safe
side. Farley DeBerry, who has gone
deeply into the question, has found
much valuable evidence to help substan-
tate West Virginia's claims. He also
owns lands in the strip.
Engineer Monroe, who has had charge
of the West Virginia defense from the
engineering side for years has prepared
in great detail the maps and charts,
etc and his good work II 10 heliavac