opened ihe Wilderness Road into Ken-
lucky. 1775. Walker lived for many
years on Jonathan Creek near Mag¬
gie. N. C. Walker Bald, a mountain
in that vicinity, was so called after the
old Congressman. The site of his resi¬
dence is soon to be marked by the
North Carolina Historical Commission.
Another interesting fact is that
Boundary Tree stands directly on
North Latitude, thirty-five degrees,
thirty minutes. In the year 172S seven
of the original Lords Proprietors of
Carolina sold their interests to the
English Crown. Sir George Carteret,
afterwards Earle of Granville, refused
to sell his interest, and in 1743, this
was set off and allotted to Granville.
By terms of the transaction all political
power was surrendered, but he re¬
tained title to the land.
The southern boundary of his allot¬
ment was along this parallel of lati¬
tude, and, so it became the dividing
line between English Crown lands and
the private holdings of Granville and
his heirs. It so remained till the Revo¬
lution.
This same line later became the di¬
viding line between old Burke and
Rutherford counties. The line, how¬
ever, was not actually run out further
west than a point on Pigeon River,
about midway between Canton. N. C.
and Woodrow Station; for the reason
that when it was so run by Joseph Mc¬
Dowell. Jr., in 1785, the territory west
(Continual on pane 17)
Felix Walker was a great old char¬
acter in his day. Besides being an ex¬
tensive land owner and speculator, he
represented Buncombe County, and
later Haywood County, in Congress
for a number of years, and, while so
serving, gave occasion to the coming
of the word "buncombe." as meaning,
"done for mere show" or "time-serv¬
ing," (see unabridged dictionary). He
was of the Daniel Boone party that
Copyright by H. C. Wilburn
The Boundary Tree
It .stood exactly on the southern
boundary line of the Earle of Gran¬
ville's grant.
By H. C. WILBUR IV’
The name. "Boundary Tree," as ap¬
plied to the Boundary Tree Motor
Court, Boundary Tree Coffee Shop.
Boundary Tree Crafts Shop, and Fill¬
ing Station, together with the tract of
land upon which they were developed,
has interesting and significant historic
associations. The Boundary Tree it¬
self. belter known in legal documents
as "The Poplar Corner Tree." stands
on the high bank of the road at the
lower border of the Boundary Tree
Tract, some eight hundred feet south
of the filling station. It is a very old
tree, perhaps six feet in diameter at
the base, having at the present (1950)
a large hollow near the ground and a
number of dead and decaying
branches. It probably will not survive
many years.
This tree was first "marked" and
designated as a "corner tree." Feb. 2.
1798. when the old pioneer. Felix
Walker, obtained Grant No. 501 from
the state of North Carolina, and es¬
tablished its beginning corner on this
tree In May of the same year he ob¬
tained Grant No. 502. which also had
its beginning corner here.
Grant No. 501 contained four
square miles, and included all the
choice lands on the Oconaluftcc River
three and one-half miles up. as well
as over a mile up the Raven Fork. It
was upon land included in this grant,
at the mouth of Mingus Creek, that
the first white settlement within the
bounds of Great Smoky Mountains
National Park was made, in all proba¬
bility. in the year 1792. Grant No. 502
was one mile square, and inclosed all
the level lands in the vicinity of
Cherokee.
THE STATE, AUOU1T 23. 1952
5
