Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-08-02
81 gslWlTH s(5HE RAmBLERzs1e[

court, and, SO the olden story runs.
bought land for a courthouse and Jail
close by their meeting place. Thus the
county seat of Montgomery county was
established close to Owens ordinary.
famous place Of public resort and COM
fort In colonial days long anterior to the
revolutionary period. The house OF
Leonard Davis. at which the justices OF
the Montgomery county court met was
better known as Hungerford's Tavern, a
place which figured rather prominently
in continental annals.
The first court at Montgomery county
courthouse met at the place which later
came to be called Rockville. early N
ITO, and the Rambler concluded that
the first courthouse building on the land.
which appears to have been bought in
r7T7. was constructed in 11"-l'is
-.
large acreage around the new court
house and the court square WAS bought
August 5, 1874, by William Prather Will
liams, and town was surveyed and
plated by Col. Archibald orme. II was
called Williamsburg. A number OF lots
were sold and houses and stores were
built
In the course Of the previous story the
Rambler said in connection with the site
Of the first court building that, He be-
neves but does not know that this land
was bought from Leonard Davis. Some
Montgomery county antiquarian and
man with a bent for old records no
doubt knows the owner of the original
courthouse land"
The Rockville Sentinel of recent date
contained this:
Rambler. writing in The Washington Star Juir
r. 1914. Of the historic spots Of Rockville says
he leaves to the person who is fond OF hs,ori.
was acquired on which the courthouse stands.
For the Information Of those interested the Senti-
mel has obtained from the land records OF Mont
comery county the following upon the subject.
and It will he observed that although the land on
in l7s7 and the jury Of conformation met in 17ss,
the deed not recorded until Isi2.
The record which the Sentinel found
reads:
By order Of Montgomery county the following
deed and nd, plat were renorded The 10Th dsy Of
gomery county. S.: BY virtue OF the act OF the
convention of this state. passed November TIT.
state. passed in November. IT'S. appointing
missioners to locate and superintend the laying
OF lot or parcel Of land not less than -
ncres nor more than - ncres. 10 build court:
house and prison for the OF the aforesaid
county. certify surveyor Of the county afore-
said that agreeable the directions OF Messrs.
Thomas Gramphin. Allen Bowie. Richard Wooten.
Joseph Wilson and James Perry. gentlemen pres
emit and appointed in the above reclted acts. that
i have carefully surveyed and laid or for the
purpose aforesaid the following parts or parcels
Of land.
Then follows an enumeration of the
parcels of land taken, thus:
Part of a street In the town OF Williamsburg.
part of the l0f OF Edward Harding. part Of two
%,,,, Of MAJ William Beali part Of TIE lot 2,
Caleb Summers. part of tract called Exchange
and New Exchanse,' the propert. Of Messrs;
valentines Garden, the properly y III Ieremish
Crabb.
The survey was by Archibald Orme
and was dated May %. 1857. The jury
on the valuation OF the lands made its
of all the property being less than one
hundred pounds.
There is discrepancy in these facts
which no doubt some interested son Of
Montgomery will straighten out. The
survey of orme shows that at the point
now called Rockville. the town of Will
liamsburg had already come into exist
enee. because part of street In that
town was taken for the court building
lot Williamsburg was created in 1874,
because the Montgomery county court
house had been either erected at that
place, or 1t had been determined to erect
= 1t there. 1t was the county seat and
courthouse which led to the creation Of
Williamsburg, yet Ormes survey makes
the purchase of the court land three
years subsequent to the creation of the
new town. AS the justices of the county
court OF Montgomery met at the house Of
Leonard Davis in 1777. and organized. It
is. reasonable to believe that the Mont
gomery county court was held before the
Orme survey of the present courthouse
site in 17S7-ten years later.
The Rambler has been given the tnfor-
nation that the first Montgomery county
court was held in the spring of 1873. and
the court records. If intact. would prob
ably show that. It is difficult to under
stand where the county courthouse was
between the organization of the county in
1777 and Orme's survey in 1887. Then.
the fact that the county bought the land
according to Orme's survey. certainly
some time about 17SS. and did not record
Its deed until 1872 is another interesting
circumstance. II there was a hitch over
payment for the land under the jury's
condemnation return of 1873 until about
the time Of the recording of the deed in
1872, the circumstances Of that delay
might be interesting.