Melfa, Town of
County of Accomack
History of incorporation
Incorporated by order of the Circuit Court of Accomack County, April 12, 1951 (Court Order Book 1950-94, p. 89).
Editor's note: A photocopy of the circuit court order is on file in the Legislative Reference Center at the Division of Legislative Services.
In the matter of the petition for
incorporation of the Town of Melfa
Accomack County, Virginia
On the first day of March, 1951, came the petitioners by their attorneys and with leave of Court filed their petition praying that an order be entered, incorporating the unincorporated community of Melfa, Accomack County, Virginia, as an incorporated Town, under the name of the "Town of Melfa," said petition being in the words and figures following to-wit:
To: The Honorable Jeff F. Walter, Judge of the Court aforesaid;
Your petitioners respectfully state:
(1) That they are inhabitants of the Town of Melfa, residing within the proposed incorporated limits of said Town, and that more than twenty (20) of your petitioners are qualified voters.
(2) That the Town of Melfa is an unincorporated Town, situate in the County of Accomack, Virginia.
(3) That it will be to the best interest of the inhabitants of said Town; that the same be incorporated, and the general good of the community will be promoted thereby.
(4) That the number of inhabitants of said Town exceeds Two Hundred and does not exceed Five Thousand.
(5) That the metes and bounds of the proposed corporate limits of said Town are as follows, to-wit:
Beginning at a concrete marker planted in the ground approximately three feet on the right-of-way of United States Highway Route thirteen from the intersection of the line of Eric C. Neville and Mrs. Elizabeth Justis, on the Northwest side of said Highway and from said marker running; North 62 degrees 12 minutes West, 203.0 feet to and along the boundary aforesaid between Mrs. Elizabeth Justis and Eric C. Neville to a point, from thence; turning and running North 1 degree 53 minutes East, 1634.2 feet across the lands of George T. Turlington and Brooks Hart to another point, from thence; running North 13 degrees, .01 minute East, 1050 feet across the land of Brooks Hart to a concrete marker on the Southwest side of the County Road leading to Onancock thence; running North 47 degrees 17 minutes East 786.8 feet across said County Road and the land of C. M. Byrd to a pipe, from said pipe; running South 62 degrees 12 minutes East, 772.1 feet across the land of C. M. Byrd to a point and from said point running North 27 degrees 48 minutes East; 1360.4 feet across the land of the W. H. Hatton Estate and that of T. U. Belote to a point, from this point running; south 62 degrees 12 minutes East, 516.0 feet across the land of the said T. U. Belote, the said U S. Route Thirteen and the right-of-way of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, to a point, and from thence; running South 27 degrees 48 minutes West, 1006.2 feet along the line of the Will Bull land to a point, from said point running; South 21 degrees 26 minutes East, 1311.7 feet along the line of the Allan Wales Lumber Company and across the land of George Mapp to a concrete marker, from thence; running; South 20 degrees 40 minutes East 1879.7 feet across the Will Bull land and the County Road to a concrete marker on the Southeast side of said road, thence; running South 30 degrees 26 minutes West 1248.5 feet across the land of Fred Harmon, Kate Bull and Dr. John Turlington to a point and from thence running; North 67 degrees 14 minutes West, 2616.5 feet across the land of Richard Elmore, the right-of-way of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company and United States Highway Route thirteen to the point of beginning.
(6) That the entire area embraced in said proposed corporate limits is 225.59 acres.
Wherefore your petitioners pray that an order may be entered by the Court incorporating the unincorporated Town of Melfa as an incorporated Town, under the name of "The Town of Melfa" with the metes and bounds set forth in this petition.
And likewise came the defendants C. M. Byrd and others by their attorney and moved the Court for leave to be made parties defendant to said petition which leave is hereby granted and upon further motion of said defendants by their attorneys leave is granted them to file their answer to said petition and the same is filed accordingly.
And the Court having considered said petition and answer and the evidence adduced on behalf of the petitioners and defendants and the arguments of Counsel and having personally inspected the area doth find:
(1) That said petition along with the notice attached of the time and place that the petition would be presented has been published in full in the Peninsula Enterprise, a newspaper published in Accomack County, Virginia, once a week for four successive weeks, to-wit: from January 19, 1951, to February 23, 1951, inclusive and that said petition was posted at the front door of the Court House of Accomack County, Virginia, for more than four weeks prior to the hearing of this cause.
(2) That it will be to the interest of the inhabitants of said community that the same be incorporated.
(3) That the prayer of the petition is reasonable with the modification of the area to be embraced as hereinafter set forth.
(4) That the general good of the community will be promoted.
(5) The number of the inhabitants residing in the area to be incorporated exceeds three hundred and does not exceed five thousand.
(6) That more than twenty of the signers of said petition residing within the area to be incorporated are duly qualified voters.
But the Court is of the opinion that the area of land designated in said petition to be embraced within said town is excessive and in the exercise of its discretion, doth find that the boundaries of the incorporated area, as prayed for in said petition, should be changed and established as follows to-wit:
Beginning at a concrete marker planted in the ground approximately three feet on the right-of-way of U. S. Highway Route 13, from the intersection of the line of Bill Neville, who is the same person as Eric C. Neville and that of the Hanchey property on the Northwest side of said highway, said marker being shown on the plat of the corporate limits of the Town of Melfa, Accomack County, Virginia, dated April 5, 1951, made by S. M. Rogers, Civil Engineer, and from said concrete marker running North 62 degrees 12 minutes West along the boundary aforesaid between the Hanchey property and that of Eric C. Neville, who is the same person as Bill Neville and continuing the same course for a distance of 383.0 feet to a point and thence turning and running North 27 degrees 48 minutes East 861.1 feet to a point on Spruce Street; and thence turning and running North 62 degrees 12 minutes West 350.0 feet; and from thence running North 27 degrees 48 minutes East 1010.0 feet; from thence running North 22 degrees 28 minutes East 50.2 feet; from thence North 49 degrees 52 minutes East 1159.4 feet, and crossing in said course the County road leading from Melfa to Savageville to a certain point; thence turning and running North 41 degrees 46 minutes West 54.3 feet; thence turning and running North 27 degrees 48 minutes East 1571.6 feet; thence South 62 degrees 12 minutes East 464.6 feet and in said course crossing the U. S. Highway route 13 and the right-of-way of the Pennsylvania Railroad to a concrete marker on the Southeast side of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, said marker being 1.4 feet on Pennsylvania Railroad right-of-way: and from said marker running South 62 degrees 12 minutes East 181.4 feet; and from this point running South 27 degrees 48 minutes west 1360 feet plus minus to a point on the Northeast bank of the ditch separating the land of the Will Bull estate from that of George Mapp; from thence following the line of the Northeast bank of the said ditch to a point where the said ditch turns and runs in a general Southern direction; and from said turning point of said ditch following the East bank of said ditch along the line of the Will Bull estate crossing the County road known as number 639 and continuing along said ditch on the Kate Bull property to a certain point approximately 125 feet from said road, said point being on the East bank of said ditch and from this point running South 25 degrees 37 minutes West 940 feet plus minus to another point on the property of Dr. John Turlington; thence North 64 degrees 23 minutes West 250 feet to a point on road number 626 leading to Wachapreague, Virginia, from Fair Oaks; continuing said course; from said point running North 64 degrees 23 minutes West 240.1 feet to a point on the land of R. O. Elmore from this point running North 25 degrees 37 minutes East 157.6 feet to an iron stob; thence continuing North 25 degrees 37 minutes East 119.7 feet thence; running North 39 degrees 24 minutes West 1695.3 feet to a point on Virginia Avenue; thence turning and running South 50 degrees 36 minutes West 86. 4 feet to another point on Virginia Avenue; and then running South 27 degrees 48 minutes West 1049.6 feet to a point adjacent to the line of R. O. Elmore and from said point running North 62 degrees 12 minutes West 473.0 feet across the right-of-way of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company and U. S. route 13 to the point of beginning, comprising a total area of 173.98 acres as shown on the map of the corporate limits of the Town of Melfa, Accomack County, Virginia, dated April 5, 1951, made by S. M. Rogers, Civil Engineer, with the following notations, "Corporate limit lines all bearings are true bearings and refer to true North. Magnetic North-Magnetic Declination 7 degrees 26 minutes West of true North. The road or Street lines on this plat do not necessarily coincide with the property lines, therefore this plat should not be used to establish lot lines."
And it is hereby ordered that the plat of survey made by S. M. Rogers, Civil Engineer, with the legend thereon as follows: "Corporate Limits of the Town of Melfa, Accomack County, Virginia, April 5, 1951, made by S. M. Rogers, Civil Engineer" to be filed with the papers in this cause.
The Court doth accordingly order and decree that such locality or Community as designated in the metes and bounds last above mentioned be and the same hereby is incorporated as a Town by the name and style of "The Town of Melfa," with metes and bounds as last herein set forth and doth further order that hereafter the inhabitants within such bounds shall be a body politic and corporate with all the powers, privileges and duties conferred upon and appertaining to Towns under the general law.
It is further ordered that an election be held on the 12th day of June, 1951, in the Town of Melfa, for the election of a Mayor and six Councilmen for said Town, and it is likewise ordered and decreed that said Mayor and six Councilmen, when elected, shall constitute the Council of said Town.