Show f l nd F a uli x I I II 3 tar 4 aar x xyr yr rt w e M k 3 w w a I I II I II II T I By ELMO SCOTT WATSON I I CI 11 Mil 1 It 11 11 n a nR aR merch nt of o a R la exploited exploded 1 i t bombshell In the Old 01 I Do DoI 11 Ion find and sent state of fi Ovals historIans and lt at tot tOI news nm s scurrying In to die l I 0 in m the archives es by y deehr deehring In Ing tint that he lie is the lie real owner o of the greater part pirt of the land upon which Inch shIl stand the state capitol and that he lie wants to be paid for iton It Iton iton on the basis of or its original valuation made In 10 of ot some G Joo plus compound Intel Interest est it at the rate of J 3 per cent a year seir for HG ear car And that Ins has set et some of the clans chos to figuring fi just how colossal colo a sum would lie be n principal of ot plus compound Interest t for nearly a century and a half The Richmond HI merchant merch mt sis says sl s that the stile stale of la irginia Irginia can not pro Ice any records to pro prove proe e tint that the land lantI condemned in 1784 1751 for a public square was nas e ever paid for and saws si S1 he 1 ask relict relief flom the il enemy assembly nt at its ne next t session se loo If It the stale refuses es to con consent ent to a n suit alleging breach of ct I ailing In tint that step Mr Ir Gunn has been lIeen nd I ad 11 b coun counsel el tint that he can cango cingo go Into the federal court courts on 00 the grounds of ot the of propel t rights and lie he he can eno prove pro e his contention U bi e existIng lag Ing records A Mr Ir Gunn points to a letter sent to Thomas on then ambassador issador to Prance by uy members of a e commission ing Mr Ir son to engage an nn architect iri In Paris Puis to pie pie- pie pare pare plans for a state capitol m ind d as assuring assuring suring the author of the lie Declaration of Independence that the the hill hili on Gunn Coins Gunns s ell 0 hou house e stands antI and which you OU fl a as the best situation for i a state contin lies ues to be preferred rl d by b h us The Jefferson letter Is In Intile time tile custod custody of the College of ot W and Mirv Marv 1 lime Ilic he original condemnation order Ins has been lIeen placed on record In Inthe Inthe Inthe the Henry Count County court lifter after re obscure for fir nearly noail years icara ea Sir Mr Gunn has been heen working on his claim since childhood but hut made no effective held head a until the original Jut juras jura's report was as un unearthed from dust archives cs Thirty years eus ago ngo I met a n man mane man e who was a then ninety Sears old Mr Sir I Gonn said ald recently king Asking me If I were a n descendant of the old Gunn family of Richmond he told me that his father vs who ho hos s worked for the state gO government eminent had Informed him that the state of 1 ne never neer nc er paid for forthe forthe the land condemned for tor u use e as n a public square and ind the permanent scat et ot of the state government goy gO The rea- rea reason bon rea-bon son Mn he said was as that the lie condemns proceedings s records had Ind been lost and that no claim against the state CO COId Id be pro proved pro ed In court I I was as told h bi my family as n a boy that my lilY family fatally ne never nc cr had hatI been heen corn com d by lIy the state tate 13 1 il efforts v ere blocked until the original con order vs was a as found The pl pa tiers pers by mistake were sent In liS 1 to the city clerk cierI clerks s 8 office for tor recording In instead tead of ot to the clerk cierI of the Hie Counts Counti Count court hose J e papers plus maps uncovered unco find and the litter to Thomas J D n which shows ho hos s Ir Jefferson had Ind III Inspected the old Gunn plot while governor o of ot Ir and fa favorers It for a state tate capitol site peak for themselves es m I ha have ha e b been en Informed by C Lee Moore lie he cun can find no ot the state ln Ing paid for tor the lire prop ert It condemned In 1751 I too toot c the tho matter up with GO Governor em or Bard l B rd nl toward to nr the close of ot his Ills administration The Tume governor gO after referring my t letter leUel to the secretary of the con com cond d V for 10 Investigation Informed me tint that the facts were ue as ns I hall had stated them to be lie insofar as the a ot of any record of or pa payment by the state V sas as as concerned In the Judgment of ot legal advisers ad the mere more condemnation proceedings In the tin uh absence ene of ot pa pai did dill not take the title to the property from my ancestors ancestor 1 I feel feci I ha bare ha e o D tIll ti it claim to ow 0 ownership ner of the 1 lindon tad on which the state capitol now st winds I cannot sue the state for breach brcich br of lct without the states state consent find and the statute of limitation hl Ins has ex es But 1 I helle helle e e the people of 1 Ir irinia would Ill III e a to see time the IH proper oper settlement made Isor or or is this Richmond merchant the one who ho Is interested in this tins matter mat matter matter ter for lie he declares tit tint it other old families imong mong them them thein the Sn ders Curries Cun les Archibald Carts Cart's dir c I Prices and Aenlle Coche bail Ind half halfacre fiCI acre e lots condemned In and Ares pres present ent da dai descendants of tho those are witching with Intel interest est his Ills mo move moe mo e for restitution or or Is this 1 Ir irginia mla cn case e unique I for Ins has i a somewhat ome similar tar lar one onh theo the o l o 2 Man Mans s I sad there lias has Infinite greater potential itches to mil anal e a It worth orth fighting for forIt forIt forIt It Is a n small triangular tract of ot about t two 0 aCI acres es In the heu beast t of the great greut Oklahoma City oil fields which has lie been en lost for GO CO i years ears o 0 Roomer Boomer homesteaded It after the run Into Oklahoma in 1550 The sun surveyors e ors and seemed to ha have ha e missed It and It Is still fao bO government eminent bollo soil boll oll o 1 one seems to lia c dreamed that this valuable parcel lei of land w ms 1 is am a aall a all able to a claimer until recently when hen henI I I orrest Parrott of at Oklahoma City guided by uy maps whick others hid had seen no doubt but failed to realize their beban be lIe an a bit lilt of pro prospect prospecting hug Ing in the archives es of the register of at deeds at the Oklahoma county court house liat hat lie he found was wis l almost lIe a allie-a allie a plot of unclaimed land sandwiched sand right in the middle of ono one of the rIchest oil areas of the mm world orld So Mr Ir Parrott staged the run ot of 1030 Il Ith an armful of stakes stales he be dashed out to the little s Ih er of river rh er bottom land and drove e ro roe e his Ills pegs Then as In the prairie schooner and sunbonnet dais da s of 42 12 eats S ago igo Mr l Parrott set about making his Ills claim claim legal lie went back to the court courthouse courthouse house and flied filed an nn lt amdi of his claim setting forth he lie was as filing on onIt onit onIt It as a homestead and claiming rights as an c e c esen sen Ice manThe manThe man manThe The triangular shape of ot time the ne neg neglected piece of land was as caused lIy by bythe bythe the antics of o the orth rth rim er b When lien hen the gO government go eminent emment surveyors made their t lint sun survey sune e of ot 1970 they did an on excellent job joll for working out the rh river er bottom Into chopped up lots but they the forgot this tills one tract The rhe tract Is In the center of at the most Intense e drilling activity ltv In the Oklahoma City oil Held field f dd Hilf a n mile east Is s T B II Slick Slicks s so o Iso 1 Bailee 17 barrel OO barrel a tl da dam dawell well smell and the same distance south the 2 2 barrel a day da dawell well smell ell owned 0 ned by 11 Franklin And Ami yet these are ure only t two 0 c ew of queer claims which result from from sun C or or errors or some slip up In registering deeds or orsome orsome some somo other title to land 1 curious case e was a reported from from Cram ew 1 lork lorl re- re recently re and added another Item to time the record of ot high priced real rell estate state In III that cit where here some plots of ot ground are JI orth more than the number of sliver silver dollars b It would take tahe taketo taketo to cover er CO er them In this ca case e a par purchaser cha chaser er of ot real rel estate paid n a total of 1200 1 OO for tor square qUill cinches Indies inches of ot land land- lind j GO a square Inch It come came about in 10 inthis this wi 1 One of the Mrs Irs 1 w mated to lIu bui i a plot of or ground In f 1 1st 1 st I 1 bc e street between bet een rINt avenue n antI and time the riser rh cr on which once stood th five e brownstones built In the se semen seen semens se en s b lI one Haney Dennis a n tale realtor of lil hl his du da U prospect e purchaser ss wanted allied to tobe tolie be sure she ghe hud had a n clear claim to the title so she tad Ind experts of ot the Title Guarantee So Trust company look It up For what hat I It if t after the house were ere erected should hob up and claim n a strip of or property propE rt eighteen feet uy by one Inch running right through h time the building Such a demand would form torm a n grave gra e crisis In this In Instance tance a huntis hunt was is made for the Dennis Dennl heirs heir It was as hard hanl to find tind them thuu It took tool t two 0 months during which time more I 00 00 letters mm were ere my written I they were wele located There were ele six I heirs In all nil The situation was ex c explained cI I ime title compan company people finally got gotthem gotthem I Ithem them to sign a quitclaim for each elch or 1 1200 oo In all That Isn t much but hut then neither was the land lanel to mm which they the were el e the heirs It amounted In to lust Just one and a hilt half square feet But nut If It ems e loik lorl can claim time tho t smalle-t and antI the hl highest he t priced pieces of real estate est Chicago can point with pride to the orld worlds s costliest cow path which runs right through a n mod modern ern em 22 story sl sri aper 1 no non n as the hest est et Momoe Monroe building The cow comm path dates from flom the early 0 s shen when hen Di Dr Jared Bassett bought time the entire Clark street frontage feet deep between een Monroe and son streets street In tIe tl-e center of the block bloch he lie built his home with Ith a R cow barn for Ins his cow CO nes Bessie le As time sm ent on Doctor Bassett Hassett sold most ot of othis his property but al always ays with Ith a n provision pro provision vision Islon for i m 10 foot easement casement so that Bessie Dessl could make male herVa her way wa Va to the barn fco So o In 1025 when hen the West Mon Monroe Monroe roe Building corporation took tool over o time the lease for the properly they found the Haw which preserved ed the path but too toolate late to do anything about It lime deed was as subjected to litigation and It stood the tho test While their solution of the problem was wis a little costly It was as rather unusual for tor the they usurped the air rights and left Bessie hellO her hei 10 foot path with Ith in lD IS 18 foot clearance just In cn case e she lIe should desire deslie to bring In a wagon agon load of has hai some time Above e the IS 18 root got le level lc el the bUilding juts out at light right angles co covering cohering time the cow COn path and extending upward for 20 O stories 11 hll set hack hach buildings are common sights In Chicago o this is tho set set out building on record And n 1 the spice space lost would bring about 12 In yearly early rentals rental Another curious situation cau caused ed by bya bya bya a flaw In a title was as reported from New lock lork recently The he star story stori of It ns as told In the ew ew lOll loik World tol fol follows follows 10 lows s A legal leal catch c In the title of mm hat used to be lie known n as City Hall place place- place a n street only about feet long that ran from in back of the hull building din at nt Duane street ct to Pearl lEarl Is street Is holding bolding Ul up plans for time tho proposed propos d cl II center mound the new county count court house and Foley square quare Time The riddle liddle which Assistant Cor Counsel Joel J Squire of the tho bureau of ot street openings Is charged to solve soh e Is what hat cm can the city do tIo with Ith time tho fort forti foot road roadway ay mm which bisects one of ot the mo most t valuable plots of real estate In ew sew ew fork lork fart Part of this riddle I Is what will hill time the Church of ot t St t Andrew which stands on time the west est of ot the old street do about Its parish house which stands on OIl the east of It Under the time plan dra drawn dran n by Joseph John Johnson on City Hall place as asto to be lie scrapped to make male room for tor time the new federal building and the Hie parish house was as to be tom tOI tom n llo down llon n and antI re- re rebuilt re rebuilt built on plot adjacent to the he church I 1 his new ne plot was as to be lie by the citi for the lie old site of ot the tho thop p Irish house hoube A section of ot City place was ns Jed In the new site But when hen the church officials asked ash HI for a title deed to the land Innel the tho city was 13 surprised to find und that It could not be kis bh en 1 lime he r reason bon was that the cit 0 owns ns on onh I right of ot way ease easements meats ments were ere obtained In 1800 from the original owners 0 of the time plot but that some orno omo un no unknown n heIr of ot the original 0 owners holds th the free title Had Had HatI the tho tit or federal gos gO go actually elected erected a n costly bull building lo on part of the old street and had the true 0 owners ners turned up and set et forth their claims the money loss to the cit elt would ha have ha e been tremendous according to real estate Old City Citi Hall halt place Is la estimated as 8 clo close e to Sir Mr Squire sas says a he Is not readi en e to q guess guC as to what hat can enn be lie done about It It S Q by n w c Union |