Acts of the Legislature of West Virginia
CHAPTER 61. - An ACT establishing the county of Lincoln out of parts of the counties of Cabell, Putnam, Kanawha and Boone.
1867
Passed February 23, 1867.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
1. So much of the counties of Cabell, Putnam, Kanawha and Boone as are included within the following boundary lines, to wit: Beginning at the old ford of Mud river, about two hundred yards below the mouth of Trace Fork of said river; thence with the dividing ridge between Trace creek and Little Buffalo creek to the dividing ridge between Bear creek, Trace creek and Tyler creek to Guyandotte river, at the mouth of Madison's creek; thence south forty-five degrees west to the Wayne county line; thence with said line to the Logan county line; thence with said line to the Boone county line; thence with the original line of Cabell county to the head of Big creek, a branch of Mud river; thence along the top of the ridge above said creek to a point opposite the ford above the farm of Mark Adkins; thence crossing at said ford and along the top of the ridge below Parcener creek to the head of Horse creek; thence with the dividing ridge between the waters of Mud and Coal rivers and the waters of Big Hurricane creek to and with the dividing ridge between the Trace Fork of Mud river, Charley's creek and Little Two-mile creek to the place of beginning, so as to include all the waters of the Trace Fork of Mud river, shall form one distinct and new county, which shall be called and known by the name of The County of Lincoln, in honor of our late chief magistrate, who paid his life as a forfeit for his devotion to our glorious Union.
2. All the township officers within the bounds of the said new county at the date of the passage of this act, shall remain in office for and during the terms for which they have been elected, and until their successors shall have been elected and qualified according to law.
3. All that portion of the township of McComas within the said new county, shall constitute a township therein, to be called the township of Sheridan; and John Scites, the present supervisor of McComas township, shall be and remain the supervisor of the said township of Sheridan until his successor shall have been elected and qualified.
4. All that portion of the township of Carroll within said new county, except as hereinafter provided, shall constitute a township therein, to be called the township of Carroll; and William C. Mahone, the present supervisor of the township of Carroll, shall be and remain the supervisor of the said township until his successor shall have been elected and qualified.
5. All the residue of the said new county, together with that part of the township of Carroll lying on the waters of the Middle Fork of Mud river above the mouth of the Sugar Tree Fork, shall compose one township, to be called the township of Duval, and William Holston is hereby appointed the supervisor of the said township until his successor shall have been elected and qualified.
6. The supervisors herein named shall constitute the board of supervisors of the said county of Lincoln until their successors shall have been elected and qualified as aforesaid, and shall have all the powers and perform all the duties vested in and imposed by law upon the other boards of supervisors.
7. The county seat of the said new county shall be on the lands of Charles Lattin, near the place known as the town of Hamlin, or at said town, as the board of supervisors may determine; and the board of supervisors of the said new county shall proceed as soon as practicable after the passage of this act to provide a suitable court house and other public buildings for the said new county, in the manner required by law; and said board shall provide some suitable and convenient place for holding the courts of the said county until said court house is completed.
8. The said new county shall be attached to and form a part of the same judicial circuit and the same congressional and senatorial districts with the said county of Cabell.
9. The judge of the circuit court of the said new county shall, as soon as practicable after the passage of this act, appoint a clerk for the said court, and a prosecuting attorney; and the board of supervisors shall appoint a sheriff, recorder, surveyor of lands, assessor, county treasurer, and superintendent of free schools for the said county, who shall hold their offices until their successors shall be elected and qualified according to law.
10. The said new county and the said county of Cabell shall together elect one delegate to the house of delegates, until a new apportionment of representation therein shall be made as provided in the constitution.
11. All process issued in the said counties of Cabell, Putnam, Kanawha and Boone, before the organization of the said new county, and all public dues and officers' fees which remain unpaid by the citizens of the said new county at the organization thereof, shall be executed and returned, collected and accounted for by the sheriff, or other officers in whose hands the same may have been placed, in the same manner as if this act had not been passed.
12. The courts of the said counties of Cabell, Putnam, Kanawha and Boone, shall retain jurisdiction over all actions, suits and proceedings therein pending at the time of the passage of this act, and shall try and determine the same, and award execution or other process thereon, except in cases where the plaintiff and one or more of the defendants reside in the said new county; which last mentioned cases, together with the papers and a transcript of the record of the proceedings therein had, shall after that day, if either party so desires, be transferred to the courts of the said new county and there tried and determined as other cases brought in said new county.
13. The boards of supervisors of the said counties of Cabell Boone and Lincoln may change and alter the boundary lines of the several townships of their respective counties, or create new townships therein, or reduce the number already created so that the same be not less than three nor more than ten in any one of the said counties, without submitting their action in the matter to a vote of the people; and in the meantime all that part of the township of Barboursville lying on the waters of Guyandotte river, above and including Smith's creek, is added to and made part of the township of McComas, in the county of Cabell, and Rolin Bias, senior, is hereby appointed supervisor of said township of McComas, to hold his office until his successor shall be elected and qualified according to law; and all that part of the township of Union in said county lying between the turnpike and Mud river, together with that part of the township of Carroll remaining in the said county, shall constitute a new township therein, to be called the township of Grant, and Charles Myers is hereby appointed supervisor thereof, to hold his office until his successor is elected and qualified according to law.
14. The board of supervisors of the said county of Lincoln shall have power to borrow money on the credit of said county to an amount not exceeding ten thousand dollars, at a rate of interest not exceeding seven per centum per annum, to be used in the construction of the public buildings of the said county; and it shall be the duty of the board of supervisors of the said county to levy in each year such sum as may be necessary to pay the interest of the sum borrowed, and so much of the principal as may become due according to their contract; and in case of their failure to do so, they may be compelled thereto by the circuit court of said county by writ of mandamus.
15. It shall be the duty of the board of supervisors of the said county of Lincoln to levy an amount sufficient to pay to the surveyor who may be appointed to survey the road from the village of Barboursville, in the county of Cabell, to the Kanawha and Logan road, in the county of Boone, one-third of the amount allowed him for making said survey, and the said counties of Cabell and Boone shall each pay one-third of said sum, instead of one-half as provided by the act authorizing said survey.
16. Charles Lattin, William C. Mahone and Robertson Spurlock are hereby appointed commissioners to run and mark the lines of the said new county. They shall make out five plats and reports of the said boundary line, one of which shall be delivered to the recorder of each of the counties of Cabell, Putnam, Kanawha, Boone and Lincoln.
17. Persons committed to jail in the said county of Lincoln may be confined in the jail of the county of Cabell until a jail is built in the said county of Lincoln, but the said county of Lincoln shall pay all the charges of such confinement which are not paid by the State.
18. The terms of the circuit court of the said county of Lincoln shall be held on the first Monday in April, June, October and December.