In the Revised Statutes the north and south boundaries of the State are described as follows: The northern boundary, the parallel of 36° 30′; the southern boundary, a line running northwest from Goat Island on the coast in latitude 33° 56' to the parallel of 35°, and thence along that parallel to Tennessee; and the western boundary is the Smoky Mountains. It is strange that the Revised Statutes should contain a statement of the boundary lines that is so well. known to be incorrect, especially as regards the southern boundary. The intention had been from the earliest colonial times to establish the northern boundary upon the parallel of 36° 30'. This is the wording of every legislative act relating to it, and the errors of this boundary are due simply to errors in surveying. The following description of the boundary lines of this State and of the various attempts made to locate them is taken from the report of the Geological Survey of North Carolina: 54 The first and only serious attempt to ascertain the northern boundary was that made in 1728 by Col. Wm. Byrd and others, commissioners on the part of the two colonies, acting under royal authority. From the account given by Byrd of this undertaking, it appears that they started from a point on the coast whose position they determined by observation to be in 36° 31', north latitude, and ran due west (correcting for the variation of the compass), to Nottoway river, where they made an offset of a half mile to the mouth of that stream, again running west. The line was run and marked 242 miles from the coast, to a point in Stokes county, on the upper waters of the Dan river, (on Peter's Creek), the North Carolina commissioners accompanying the party only about twothirds of the distance. Beyond this point, the line was carried some 90 miles by another joint commission of the two colonies in 1749; this survey, terminating at Steep Rock creek, on the east of Stone mountain, and near the present northwest corner of the State, estimated to be 329 miles from the coast. In 1779 the line was taken up again at a point on Steep Rock creek, determined by observation to be on the parallel of 36° 30′ (the marks of the previous survey having disappeared entirely), and carried west to, and beyond Bristol, Tennessee. This last is known as the Walker line [see p. 126], from one of the commissioners of Virginia. These lines were run and the latitude observations taken with very imperfect instruments, and the variation of the compass was little understood, so that it was not possible to trace a parallel of latitude. The line, besides, was only marked on the trees and soon disappeared, and as the settlements were very scattered, the location soon became a matter of vague tradition and presently of contention and litigation, so that in 1858, at the instance of Virginia, commissioners were appointed to relocate the line from the end of the Byrd survey westward; but for some reason they did not act. In 1870 commissioners were again appointed by Virginia and similar action asked on the part of this State; and the proposition wes renewed in 1871, but ineffectually as before. In all these numerous attempts to establish the line of division between the two colonies and States, the intention and the specific instructions have been to ascertain and mark, as the boundary of the two States, the parallel of 36° 30'. 54 Vol. 1, pp. 2-4, Raleigh, 1875. 55 This break in the line is in accordance with an agreement made in 1727 between the governors of the two colonies. Its measured length is 2.977 feet. The maps published toward the end of last century by Jefferson and others give that parallel as the line, and the Bill of Rights of North Carolina claims that "all the territory lying between the line above described (the line between North and South Carolina) and the southern line of the State of Virginia, which begins on the seashore in 36° 30′ north latitude, and from thence runs west, agreeably to the charter of King Charles, are the right and property of this State." But it appears from the operations of the United States Coast Survey at both ends of the line, that the point of beginning on Currituck Inlet, instead being, as so constantly assumed, in latitude 36° 30′, or as determined by the surveyors in 1728, 36° 31' is 36° 33′ 15'', and the western end (of "the Walker line," of 1779, at Bristol, Tenn.), 36° 34' 25.5". [See p. 163 for later data.] It is stated in Byrd's Journal that the variation of the compass was ascertained to be a little less than 3° W. (The magnetic chart of the United States Coast Survey would make it E.) And no account is given of any subsequent correction, and if none was made at the end of the line surveyed by him the course would have been in error by nearly 3°, as the amount of variaton in this State changes a little more than 1° for every one hundred miles of easting and westing. So that the northern boundary of the State as run is not only not the parallel of 36° 30′ but is far from coincident with any parallel of latitude, and must be a succession of curves, with their concavities northward and connected, at their ends by north and south offsets. The southern boundary between this State and South Carolina and Georgia was first established by a joint colonial commission in 1735 to 1746. The commissioners run a line from Goat Island on the coast (in latitude 33° 56', as supposed), N.W. to the parallel of 35°, according to their observations, and then due west to within a few miles of the Catawba river, and here, at the old Sal'sbury and Charleston road, turned north along that road to the southeast corner of the Catawba Indian lands. This line, resurveyed in 1764, was afterwards (in 1772) continued along the eastern and northern boundaries of the Catawba lands to the point where the latter intersects the Catawba river; thence along and up that river to the mouth of the South Fork of the Catawba, and thence due west, as supposed, to a point near the Blue Ridge. This part of the line was resurveyed and confirmed by commissioners under acts of Assembly of 1803, 4, 6. 13, 14, and 15, and continued west to and along the Saluda mountains and the Blue Ridge to the intersection of the "Cherokee boundary" of 1797, and thence in a direct line to the Chatooga river at its intersection with the parallel of 35°. From this point the line was run west to the Tennessee line, between this State and Georgia, in 1807, and confirmed and established by act of 1819. The boundary between this State and Tennessee was run, according to the Course designated in the act of 1789, entitled "An act for the purpose of ceding to the United States certain western lands therein described" (the State of Tennessee); that is, along the crest of the Smoky mountains, from the Virginia line to the Cataluche river (in Haywood County), in 1799, under act of 1796. It was continued from this point to the Georgia line in 1821. The commissioners who completed this line, at the date last-mentioned, instead of following their instructions, diverged from the crest of the Smoky (Unaka) mountains at the intersection of the Hiwassee turnpike, and run due South to the Georgia line, thereby losing for the State the valuable mining region since known as Ducktown. And as to the Southern boundary, the point of beginning on Goat Island is in latitude 33° 51′ 37", as shown by the Coast Survey, and instead of running from Goat Island Northwest to latitude of 35° and thence along that parallel, "Probably run on compass meridian; the line as marked actually runs about 6° west of true south. it appears, from the South Carolina geographical State survey of 1821-25, that the course from the starting point is N. 47° 30′ W., and instead of pursuing the parallel of 35, it turns west about 10 miles south of that line, and then on approaching the Catawba river, turns northward pursuing a zigzag line to the forks of the Catawba river, which is about 12 miles north of that parallel; and from this point to the mountains the boundary line (of 1772) runs, not west, but N. 88° W., bringing its western end about 17 miles too far north, and reaching the (supposed) parallel of 35° at a distance of about 130 miles west of the Catawba River. The loss of territory to the State resulting from these singular deviations is probably between 500 and 1,000 square miles. The United States Geological Survey has determined approximate positions for points on the North Carolina-Virginia line as follows: Longitude 77° 31' 50', latitude 36° 32′ 42.6". The following extract from the Tennessee constitution of 1796 defines the eastern boundary of that State, which is the western boundary of North Carolina, as it was intended to be run and marked: 57 Beginning on the extreme height of the Stone Mountain at the place where the line of Virginia intersects it, in latitude thirty-six degrees and thirty minutes north; running thence along the extreme height of the said mountain to the place where Watauga River breaks through it; thence a direct course to the top of the Yellow Mountain, where Bright's road crosses the same; thence along the ridge of said mountain, between the waters of Doe River and the waters of Rock Creek, to the place where the road crosses the Iron Mountain; from thence along the extreme height of said mountain to where Nolichucky River runs through the same; thence to the top of the Bald Mountain; thence along the extreme height of said mountain to the Painted Rock, on French Broad River; thence along the highest ridge of said mountain to the place where it is called the Great Iron or Smoky Mountain; thence along the extreme height of said mountain to the place where it is called Unicoi or Unaka Mountain between the Indian towns of Cowee and Old Chota; thence along the main ridge of the said mountain to the southern boundary of this State, as described in the act of cession of North Carolina to the United States of America. Commissioners appointed by authority of the Legislature of North Carolina surveyed and marked a part of the Tennessee line in 1799. Beginning at the Virginia line they ran southwestward along the crest of the mountain to the highest pinnacle of the Smoky Mountains beyond French Broad River, where they stopped. Neither Tennessee nor the United States was represented in this survey. A certified copy of the field notes was given to Tennessee in 1803, but it does not appear that the line as run was ratified by either State. North Carolina had, however, agreed to be bound by the action of its commissioners. In 1819 North Carolina authorized the extension of the line of 1799, and in 1820 Tennessee took like action. The line was completed to the Georgia State line, and the extension was formally ratified 57 Thorpe, F. N., op. cit., vol. 6, p. 3424. by both States in 1821. The original map for the 1821 survey of the North Carolina-Tennessee line is said to be in the State archives in Nashville. In 1885 commissioners were appointed to rerun the part of the line of 1799 from Iron Mountain at Indian Grove Gap to the point where the Jonesboro and Asheville road passes over Bald Mountain. The line was run in 1886, but the commissioners failed to agree on a part of the line about 6 miles long near Nolichucky River. The North Carolina commissioner followed as closely as possible the survey of 1799, but the Tennessee commissioners insisted on a line about a mile farther east. The report of the North Carolina commissioner is given in full in Document 22 of the North Carolina. Legislature, session of 1887. No further action appears to have been taken by either State toward a settlement of this dispute, but in 1915 a suit involving the proper location of the boundary was decided in the Tennessee Supreme Court in favor of the line as marked by the North Carolina commissioner.58 The commissioners who surveyed the southern part of the west boundary of North Carolina in 1821 depended almost entirely on blazes on trees for their marks, and, although they did not run out. the line as described by statute, the entire line as marked was accepted by the legislatures of the two States. In recent years many disputes regarding the exact location of parts of the line have arisen, and they were finally taken to the Supreme Court of the United States. Commissioners appointed to re-mark the boundary filed their report October 29, 1915, having remarked the 'ne from the point where it first intersects Little Tennessee River down the north side of the river about half a mile, thence across the river and up Slick Rock Creek to a point near the mouth of Big Stack Gap Branch, thence up a ridge leading to Big Fodderstack Mountain, thence along the main ridge to a place locally known as "County Corners," thence along State Ridge to Tellico River, thence in a southwesterly course to the top of Jenks Knob. South of this point sufficient marks of the survey of 1821 are known to fix the line as above described.59 The approximate position for the southwest corner of North Carolina and the southeast corner of Tennessee at a point on the Georgia line is latitude 34° 59′ 17", longitude 84° 19′ 19′′. In 1879 the legislature passed an act to appoint commissioners to make a survey from the northeast corner of Georgia westward. This "See Thompson, F. M., Reports of cases in the Supreme Court of Tennessee, vol. 7, pp. 35-66, 1916 (Tennessee Repts., No. 134), for an account of this survey. See 235 U. S. 3-17 for the decision of the court, which includes a historical description of the line and extracts from the field notes of the 1821 survey; and 240 U. S. 652 for report of commissioners. point of commencement is common to North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. In 1881 the legislature passed another act providing for the appointment of a commissioner, who should act with commissioners from Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia, or Tennessee, to rerun and re-mark the boundaries between North Carolina and the other States. In 1888 a joint commission reran the Byrd line of 1728 between the ocean at Currituck Inlet and Nottoway River, a distance of 59 miles; 0 28 appropriately marked granite monuments were established, and astronomic determinations of latitude were made for five. of them as follows (the longitudes are approximate): Monument No. 2, Knott's Island, latitude 36° 32′ 59′′, longitude 75° 55.7'. Monument No. 7, Northwest River, latitude 36° 33′ 00′′, longitude 76° 11.6'. Monument No. 11, Dismal Swamp Canal, latitude 36° 33′ 02′′, longitude 76° 22.7'. Monument No. 13, latitude 36° 33′ 01′′, longitude 76° 33.5'. Monument No. 28, Nottoway River, latitude 36° 32′ 36′′, longitude 76° 56'. SOUTH CAROLINA. The territory within the present State of South Carolina was included in the charter of Carolina, which also embraced what is now the State of Georgia. (See North Carolina, pp. 128-129.) The settlement of Carolina under the charter of 1665 had been carried on from two points, and While there had been no formal division of the domain into distinct territories, these settlements at the two points had at first distinct governments; and the northern portion had gradually acquired the informal designation of North Carolina; the southern that of South Carolina." In 1719 there was a concerted revolt by the southern settlements against the proprietary government of Carolina, but not until 1729 was the separation of the two colonies formally recognized by the Parliament of Great Britain. For a history of the settlement of the boundary between North Carolina and South Carolina, see North Carolina, pages 129, 131-132. By the charter of Georgia the line between South Carolina and Georgia was to be Savannah River, to the head thereof. In 1762 difficulties having arisen concerning the interpretation of the charter, regarding the head of the Savannah, and the title to the lands south of Altamaha River claimed by South Carolina, Georgia made com 60 See North Carolina Pub. Doc. 31, sess. of 1889, for a full report. 01 McCrady, Edward, The history of South Carolina under the Royal Government, 17191776, p. 3, New York, 1899. |