Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1913-12-19
STATE LOSES CASE
AGAINST RAILROAD

Effort Made to Hold N. & W. Re-
slOnsible for Damage to County
Right Of Way "a Years Ago.
The action brought by the
State against the Norfolk and
Western Railway for alleged OBJ
sruction of the county road be-
tween Raven and Doran, after a
spirited trial, resulted in YER
dict for the railway company
last Friday night.
When the Norfolk and Western
Railway Company built its
Clinch Valley division through
Tazcwell county twenty-four
years ago the company appro-
priated a large part of the coun-
ty road all the way from Doran
to Raven, a distance of one mile.
Under the law the railway COM
pany had the right to take
county road for railroad purpos-
es provided it first furnished
the county with road equally
as convenient as the one taken.
When Mr.. Lee, county road
engineer, made his preliminary
survey of the road between Do
ran and Raven with the view of |
spending the bond issue money
in the improvement thereof, he |
found that the railroad company |
had taken the old county road |
bed, or most of it, for the rail-
road, and had showed the county |
road down on lower ground next |
to Cl:nch river, and on making
he found that the |
present line of travel used as a
county road was as narrow as
eight feet in one place and for
a distance of 274 feet gradually |
increased to a width of only fif-
teen feet. Other narrow places
were found to exist along the |
route, and for these reasons the
Commemorative Attorney was
asked to investigate the records |
and find out whether or not the |
old county road bed had been
legally taken by the Norfolk and |
Western. A search of the re-
cords was made, but no order of |
the county could be found |
authorizing the railroad COM
pany to take the old road bed or
accepting the a new location
furnished by the company for
county road purposes. Mr.. Lee |
was sent to Richmond to find |
out what the records there show
ed, in as much as this road was
built under State supervision
about the year 1850. The survey
of this section of the road has
been lost from the records it |
seems, and the county was forced |
to prove the existence of the
road by dedication, and long |
uses. Several witnesses were |
put on the stand on this point, |
among whom was James H. |
Gillespie, of Richlands, who
travelled over the road as far
back as 1856 or 1857. 1t develop
ed in the evidence that Mr.. |
Gillespie was the first clerk of |
Buchanan county, the county |
having been formed in 1S5-,
and during the civil war the
Yankees were approaching that
section and the Judge ordered |
Mr.. Gillespie to carry the records
to Richland for safe keeping,
which he did.
In as much as data could not
be gotten from the records the
Commonwealth's Attorney de-
cided to have the railroad com
Dany indicted for obstructing a
county road, and develop the
evidence, and then after having
possession of all the facts a civil
action, in the nature of a man
damus, could be commenced
against the railroad company to
compel it to furnish the county
with a road equally as conven-
lent as the one taken.
The jury decided there was no
criminal liability on the railroad |
company, and the Common
wealth's Attorney expects toj
forthwith institute civil proceed
ings against the railway COM
pany to compel it to comply with
it's statutory duty. 1t seems that
possession of the old county road,
no matter how long, will not run
against the State.
While there was some conflict
in the RUldpnoa 40 To uIh of hor ot.