Cklmkink : I'knnsvi.vania IJoi xdary Controvkrsv. 523 



afterwards formed the basis of a very large portion of the land titles of 

 Washington county. Gen. AN'ashington's title to over a thousand 

 acres in Mount Pleasant township, Washington county, was based upon 

 Virginia certificates. This act of .sovereignty, before Virginia's ratifi- 

 cation of the Baltimore agreement, raised a storm of indignation among 

 the Pennsylvania adherents, and again some forcible but polite cor- 

 respondence and negotiations resulted. The two States seemed about 

 to resort to arms again to bring about an adjustment. The end of the 

 contest, however, approached gradually, and on July i, 1780, the 

 Senate of Virginia passed an act of the Lower House which confirmed 

 the Baltimore agreement "on condition that the ])rivate property and 

 rights of all persons acijuired under, founded on, or recognized by the 

 laws of either country previous to the date hereof, be s{ived and con- 

 firmed to them," etc.; and Pennsylvania was then prepared, for the 

 sake of an end to the controversy, to yield even to the humiliating 

 conditions proposed, and on Se[)tember 23, 1780, her General Assem- 

 bly, protesting against the conditions, accepted and fully ratified " the 

 said recited conditions, and the Boundary Line formed thereupon." 



RUNNING OF THE BOUNDARY LINE. 



It only remained to run and mark the line on the ground. Wash- 

 ington county was erected by an act of assembly passed on March 28, 

 1 781, embracing all the land lying south of the Monongahela, to the 

 southern boundary. But on June 3, 1781, only a temporary line was 

 run. Troubles had ensued resulting in "Obstructions" producing 

 "Anarchy and Confusion." Such terms as " Villanous Banditti" 

 were of frecjuent use on either side, and letters in the State Archives 

 are full of them. There was still much anxiety for the final establish- 

 ment of the two boundaries. 



In the spring of 1782 occurred the Indian raids into Washington 

 county, followed by the slaughter of the peaceful Moravian Indians in 

 the Ohio towns by Col. David Williamson's command, and the Craw- 

 ford expedition against the Sandusky Indians, resulting in the burning 

 of Col. ^^'m. Crawford at the stake. The times were almost as cloudy 

 as ever. But in 1783, the authorities of each state appointed four 

 commissioners to run and mark the permanent boundary. Rev. John 

 Ewing, David Rittenhouse, John Lukens and Thomas Hutchins were 

 appointed by Pennsylvania. By Virginia, Rev. James Madison, Rev. 

 Robert .Vndrews, John Page and Thomas Lewis were appointed. June 

 I, 1784, was the time set for beginning the work. An interest- 



