Evening star., 1950-10-15
Old Georgetown Tales
Lawyer Connected With Aaron Burr Case
Saved From Intemperonee by Handkerchief
By John CIoeett Proctor

Georgetown was certainly one
of the earliest cities in Frederick
County, Md, Of which it was a part
until 1776, when Montgomery
County was formed, and undoubt-
edly its excellent harbor was rec
ognized years before it even as
sumed the semblance Of town or
village.
If the record is straight. the real
first settlers of what is now
Georgetown were Col. Ninian Beall
and George Gordon, with any ad-
vantages there may be, going to
the former, who obtained a patent
for the Rock of Dumbarton" in
1903 and who pitched his tent, so
we are informed, about point
where is now the northeast corner
of N and Thirtieth streets, these
streets being known as Gay and
Washington, respectively.
George Gordon, the other early
settler, probably first made his ap-
pearance in or around Georgetown
about 1874. the year he became the
owner of a part of 'Knave's Dis
appointment" a tract Of about
800 acres, originally patented to
James Smith, and which. after
that date, went by the name Of
George Gordon's Rock Creek
Plantation"
Petitioned for Town
BY 1751 there evidently was
quite a number of persons living
west Of Rock Greek, for in that
year we find those who settled
there petitioning the Maryland
Legislature to establish town in
this vicinity, the request being
granted, according to provincial
act, on May Is, 1851. Henry Wright
Crabb, John Needham. John Clag-
gett. James Perry and David
Lynn, commissioners, being au-
thorized, to lay out and erect q
town on the Potomac River, above
the mouth of Rock Greek, in Fred
erick County. Md, specifying the
land to be used for this purpose as
that belonging to George Gordon
and George Beall, where it shall
appear to them'-the commission
ers-"to be most convenient-and
to survey the same into 80 lots, tc
be erected into a town, and to be
called Georgetown"
Except for the fact that in such
cases it was customary to appoint
certain officers, we might suspect
that the Commissioners anticipat-
ed serious trouble in carrying out
the law, for we find them appoint
ing, to start with, Alexander Beall
as clerk and surveyor and Josiah
Beall coroner. But, so far as we
know. the only disagreement that
took place at that time was the
refusal of Messrs. Beall and Cor
don to sell the part of their prop.
erty taken for the town for the 28(
pounds awarded by the Commis.
sioners, and in consequence the
coroner was directed to summon
a jury of II to assess the value o+
the property to be taken. which
was accordingly done by William
Pritchett, Ninian Magruder, Mich.
olas Baker. James Beall, Ma
thaniel Magruder. Charles Clagett
Thomas Clagett, James Holman
Charles Jones, Zachariah Magru.
der, James Wallace. Basil Beall
William Williams, Alexander Ma.
gruder, William Wallace and John
, Magruder, son of Alexander.
Arrangement Protested
George Gordon finally agreed tt
, accept the terms and selected fol
his own, lots 48 and So, a privilege
granted to himself and George
: Beall, and the latter subsequently
, accepted the same terms undel
protest, in which he said:
IF I must part with my prop
erty by force I had better save
little than be totally demolished
Rather than have none, accep'
these lots-Nos. 70 and 49,"
Some writer's on Georgetown
, assume that the place was namec
!, after George Gordon and George
Beall, while others believe it wa:
named for George II, King Of
, Great Britain. There was ar
, earlier Georgetown in Kent Coun'
ty, Md, named for this King.
, On Washington's Birthday, bacl
, IN 1881, Georgetown" was tn
, topic of the grafton given by viii
liam H. Tenney, himself mem
, ber and a native of West Wash
irgton. Speaking of the early i'm
portance of Georgetown, Mr.. Ten
: hey said:
! Washington bellies did all then