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WILLIAM SMALLWOOD, Esq; Governor.
CHAP. XXVII.
An ACT for erecting a town at or near the mouth of Wille's creek
in Washington county. |
1786.
Passed January
20. |
WHEREAS it is represented to this general assembly
by Thomas Beall,
son of Samuel, that he is possessed of a tract of land called Walnut
Bottom, contiguous to the mouth of Wille's creek in Washington
county, whereon, at the instance of many of the inhabitants of said county,
he
hath been induced to lay out ground for a town; and the said Thomas Beall
hath prayed a law to appoint commissioners to lay out and erect a town
on the
said land, and to secure the purchasers of lots therein, reserving the
right of the
proprietors and their interest in the said land; and this general assembly
are of
opinion, that the erecting a town at the mouth of the said creek may be
convenient
and beneficial to the public; |
Preamble. |
II. Be it enacted,
by the general assembly of Maryland, That Andrew Bruce,
Daniel Cresap, George Dent, John Lynn and Evan Gwinn, or any three or
more of them, be and are hereby appointed commissioners to survey a quantity
of land not exceeding two hundred acres, being part of the said tract of
land
called Walnut Bottom, contiguous to the mouth of Wille's creek, in Washington
county, and the same, when surveyed, to lay out into lots, streets, lanes
and alleys,
(the main streets running in the direction of Patowmack river, not to be
less than eighty feet wide, and the streets crossing the said main streets
not to be
less than sixty feet wide) to be erected into a town, and to be called
and known
by the name of Cumberland, and a correct and accurate certificate and plot
thereof return to the clerk of Washington county court, who is hereby
required
to record the same among the lands records of the said county, and to keep
the
original plot in his office, and a copy from the original, or the record
thereof,
shall be conclusive evidence as to the bounds and lines of the lots of
the said
town, and of the streets, lanes and alleys thereof. |
Commissioners
appointed,
&c. |
III. And be
it enacted, That the said commissioners, or a major part of them,
shall cause the said lots in the said town to be substantially and fairly
bounded
and numbered, and they and their successors are hereby required, from time
to
time, to take care that the said boundaries be constantly kept up and preserved. |
Lots to be
bounded, &c. |
IV. And be it
enacted, That on the death, removal or resignation, of any of
the said commissioners, the major part of the remaining commissioners shall
appoint
another to serve in the stead of such commissioner so dying, removing or
resigning. |
How vacancies
are to be
filled. |
V. And be it
enacted, That the said commissioners of the said town, or a
major part of them, shall have full power to employ a clerk, who shall
be under
oath fairly and honestly to enter into a book, to be kept for that purpose,
all the
proceedings of the said commissioners relating to the said town, in which
book,
among other things, shall be entered a copy of the plot and certificate
of the
said town, describing every lot by its number, and wo the taker up or purchaser
was or shall be; and the said books shall always be open to the inspection
and
examination of the said commissioners. |
Commissioners
to employ
a clerk, &c. |
VI. And be it
enacted, That the said commissioners, or a major part of them,
are empowered to levy, assess and take, by way of distress, if needful,
from the
inhabitants of the town, by even and equal proportion, a sum not exceeding
ten
pounds current money yearly, to be paid to their clerk; and they shall
have
power to remove or displace their clerk as often as they shall think fit. |
And levy money,
&c. |
VII. And be
it enacted, That every purchaser of any of the lots in the said
town in fee, and every lessee thereof for years, on rent reserved, shall
hold and
possess the same against any person hereafter claiming title to the same,
and shall
not be disturbed in their possession; and if any person shall hereafter
make claim
to the land, or any part thereof, laid off in virtue of this act, and shall,
by due |
Purchasers to
hold their
lots, &c. |
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