GREENBANK LAND GRANTS
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A grant for 44,000 acres was issued to Thomas Wilson in 1795. His tract of land lies between the town of Marlinton including the town of Dunmore and near the site of the old Cross Road School House below Greenbank and running through the loops of Deer Creek above Cass; most of it being on the East side of the Greenbrier river. This entire tract was sold for a direct tax being levied by the Federal government on the 14th day of December 1802 by the United States Marshall for the District of Virginia, and bought by Sampson Mat-thews for the sum of five dollars and one cent.
On November 1, 1817, Sampson Matthews employed Samuel D. Poage to make a division of the 44,000 acre tract, the line to begin at a point on Arthur Grimes’ land and pass a high point of rocks on Michael Mountain which is about three hundred yards west of the Lookout Tower on the Michael Mountain, and passes near the CCC Camps on the Browns Creek road.
On July 1, 1818, Sampson Matthews conveyed by deed, the west end of the survey of 9,500 acres to John Moore, Andrew Ervine, James Waugh, Arthur and Charles Grimes. The east end of the tract was disposed of by the Matthews and Jacob Warwick.
This Wilson Survey of 44,000 acres has been a harvest field for the lumber companies. The Seneca Game Forest is in the bounds of this survey which aggregates an area of 10,847 acres, and cost the State more than $20,000. In 1905, the Pocahontas Timber Company sold 2,112 acres which is in the bounds of the Seneca Forest for the sum of $32,736.
The James Patton Survey of 37,000 acres by survey bearing date May 1, 1795, lies on the Allegheny Mountain between the mouth of Ervin Draft on Back Creek in Highland county and the church on top of Allegheny Mountain. About 1840, the 37,000 acre tract was sold for taxes and divided up in lots, the survey and division being made by William Young.
The North Fork and Forest Lumber Companies own the greater part of the James Patton Survey, and the timber was operated by them recently. This survey includes the headwaters of Brush Run; Deer Creek, North Fork, Galford’s Creek; Stony Run, Ervin Draft; Ruckman Draft; Briscoe Draft and Birds Run.
On June 5, 1795, a survey of 30,000 acres was made for William Bridger who assigned the same to Jacob Kuhn. It adjoins the James Patton Survey of 37,000 acres and running with a common line from a small white oak tree standing back of the Brushy Run Chapel Church; the line passing north of the Allegheny Church; this same oak tree is corner to the Charles Galligher Survey of 32,000 acres. The Galligher survey and the Kuhn or Bridger survey run with common lines to a point near Bartow; the Bridger or Kuhn survey extends up the east prong of the Greenbrier River, crossing the mountain on the headwaters of the South Branch of the Potomac. This survey was resurveyed and divided up in 1841 for Joseph Brown by Thomas Campbell and found to contain 35,152 acres.
The Charles Galligher Survey of 32,000 acres made in 1795 lies between the town of Bartow and nearly up to Cass, taking in the little Mountain between Deer Creek and the river and running near to the top of Cheat Mountain. In 1875, B. M. Yeager, surveyor of Pocahontas county, cut the Charles Galligher survey up in lots, which was practically all sold to lumber companies. M. P. Bock was the first man to commence operating timber in the Charles Galligher survey in 1902.
All the forest lands of the large tracts mentioned above, are under option or being purchased by the Monongahela National Forest.
On August 10, 1795, a survey of 2,306 1/2 acres was made for Thomas Kincaid, adjoining the Thomas Wilson Survey of 44,000 acres at the east end of Michael Mountain, and running about three miles with the Wilson line to the lands of William and Andrew Warwick lying mostly in the Hill Neighborhood. This grant is known as the Henry Bull Survey, an assignee of Thomas Kincaid.
The last of the large surveys was made for William Dizer on the 19th of December 1805; containing 605 acres lying on the headwaters of Rosin Run and Thorney Branch adjoining the James Patton Survey of 37,000 acres and interlocking with the Thomas Kincaid survey and thereby linking up all the large grants or patents that circumscribe the Greenbank community.
To be continued…
