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Wilkes

June 8, 2023

The Dispute Below The Falls – Brown vs Spicer

On January 20, 1876, Richard Brown stood out in the cold as he observed the county surveyor Larkin C. Brooks and deputy surveyor Wesley Joines surveying his 100-acre tract of land at the Lower Falls on the south side of Stone Mountain. He had owned this land for twenty years, and he wanted confirmation about where the four corners were located. Everything started out fine while marking the north side of the property, but when the surveyors moved south while marking the western boundary, they were stopped by Zachariah Spicer who forbid them from crossing his fence. The survey would not be completed today.

The Lower Falls at Stone Mountain.

As was the standard practice, when surveyors were met with a disapproving land owner, they didn’t engage in the dispute. They packed up their equipment and reported the incident to the court which would determine how to proceed with the property boundary dispute.

The surveyor’s report from Brooks and Joines describes their surveying attempt in January 1876.

Richard Brown’s Property

Richard H. Brown owned over 500 acres at Stone Mountain in the mid-1800s including most of the trail that leads from the Hutchinson Homestead out to the Upper Falls. His property included the entirety of the trails that lead to the Middle and Lower Falls, extending south to a point just beyond the park’s boundary at the end of Traphill-Brown Rd.

One particular tract of land that he owned was for 100 acres which included the Lower Falls. It was originally granted to George Brewer in 1784.

The original 1784 land grant for the 100 acres describes it as being on Big Sandy Creek near the “Little Falls”.

George Brewer lost this land in 1796 when it was sold by the sheriff to Benjamin Adams. The deed (DB, p97) says that the court ordered the sale of Brewer’s land to “cause to be made the sum of twelve pounds, eighteen shillings, 11 pence which was recovered against him the said George Brewer by Stephen Holiway”. Apparently Brewer owed Holloway a sum of money, and Holloway took him to court to get it.

(As a side note, Stephen Holloway was Brewer’s neighbor. Stephen Holloway – the progenitor of all the Holloways of Wilkes County – was the first to live at the site of the Hutchinson Homestead, even though he never officially purchased that land. It was first bought from the state in 1817 by John Brown who was the father of Richard H. Brown. Later, in 1858, John Hutchinson bought that land where several generations of his family would live.)

Returning to the 100-acre tract that is in dispute, it was owned by William Williams until 1814 when he sold it to William Edwards. William Edwards sold it to Richard H. Brown in 1856. And in 1876, we’re standing out in the cold as the surveyors are packing up their transits, compasses, and chains after being unable to complete the survey. So why was Richard having his property surveyed 20 years after he purchased it?

Zachariah Spicer

I checked the deed book indexes, but there aren’t any deeds listed to or from Zachariah Spicer in this time period. My first thought was that these deeds must be missing. We know Zachariah Spicer existed because he is listed in the censuses. He was born in 1852 and married Micah Paulina Hall on August 26, 1875. Only eleven months before their marriage, Paulina had inherited part of her father’s estate which consisted of 160 acres on the southern border of Richard Brown’s land. Therefore, Zachariah Spicer never purchased the land. Instead, he acquired it with his marriage to Paulina.

Four months after his marriage, 23-year-old Zachariah Spicer was causing trouble for his neighbor. I imagine that Zachariah was clearing land and installing a fence on what he felt like was the northern edge of his land. Perhaps Richard Brown, a generation older, explained to him that he had crossed the property line and that he should construct his fence a short distance to the south. Zachariah refused, so Richard Brown called the county surveyor.

Paulina Hall inherited 160 acres (shown in red) from her father Owen Hall in 1874. She married Zachariah Spicer in 1875.

The Second Survey Attempt

A month after their first attempt, the surveyors returned with a court order to complete their work. This time, a larger crowd was present. In addition to the two surveyors, the court appointed a jury to oversee the process. This included Joseph S. Holbrook, Lewis W. Holbrook, Henderson McGrady, J. Alfred Johnson, and Samuel Caudill. Additionally, Zachariah demanded that he bring witnesses A. Wiles, James H. Foote, and L. Upchurch.

With enough men to field a football team, the surveying began once again. Everyone agreed with the starting corner which was a white oak above the falls of Big Sandy Creek. When they ran south along the west line, they crossed Zachariah’s fence and ended at a sourwood stump in his field. Just as Richard Brown had said, Zachariah’s fence was too far north.

Surveyors’ report from their second attempt on February 21, 1876.

Notice the small sketch in the upper right corner of the report (and reproduced below). It shows the 100-acre tract with Big Sandy Creek running through it. The northeast corner is the beginning white oak. The surveyors moved west to the the second corner, then south to the third corner where they ran into Zachariah Spicer’s fence.

Comparison of the survey sketch and the topo map.

When comparing the survey sketch with a topo map from today, the tributaries of Big Sandy Creek line up surprisingly well! The third corner, which came to a sourwood stump in Zachariah Spicer’s field, is still a field within Sandy Creek Family Campground.

The cost of the survey, with all of the reports and witnesses, was $17.85. While the court papers don’t state who paid these fees, it was likely Zachariah Spicer since he was in the wrong.

The cost of the survey was $17.85.

Richard Brown’s Mill

One other surprise that is revealed in these records is the fact that Richard Brown owned a mill on this property. When Brown notified Zachariah Spicer about the upcoming survey, he described the meeting point as “the white oak corner above my mill”. In the original 1784 grant, it was “the white oak above the little falls”. So perhaps Richard’s mill was located very close to the cascade that we know as the Lower Falls.

Zachariah Spicer was notified of the upcoming survey in January 1876.

One other landmark within this 100-acre tract is the Brown Family Cemetery. It’s at the south end of the state park, overlooking a field not far from his disputed corner.

The Brown Family Cemetery is located on Richard Brown’s 100-acre tract.

Richard H. Brown (1830-1901) is buried here with his wife Mary Joines Brown (1827-1914), along with several of their children and grandchildren.

The Brown Family Cemetery, looking south from the edge of the state park.

Headstones for Richard Brown (1830-1901) and his wife Mary Joines Brown (1827-1914).

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