Series Information
FREDERICK COUNTY
CIRCUIT COURT
(Road Record)
1852-1853
C874
Series Description
Proceedings of the circuit court and and its predecessor, the
county court, regarding petitions to open, alter, or close public
roads, as mandated by Ch. 89, Acts of 1818. The levy court,
replaced by the board of county commissioners in 1851, retained
concurrent power to consider petitions to alter roads and held
full authority over petitions for private roads. All
responsibility for roads was transferred to the county
commissioners by Ch. 220, Acts of 1853.
Documents for each case contain the petition, sometimes objection
statements, court orders, commissioners return including surveys
and plats, damage awards to landowners, and ratification of the
return. Entries are arranged chronologically by recording date.
The court sent copies or abstracts of the proceedings to the levy
court, and later the county commissioners. The county government
then arranged and paid for the required road work and
compensation to landowners. The levy court and the county
commissioners transcribed vital information, but not the plat,
into (Road Book) in series C872 and C873.
Rather than use separate books, the court clerk recorded the road
proceedings in land record volumes, usually at the end or
beginning, but did not provide references in the land record
indexes. The road records are also available on film in series
CM508 and CM507. For ways to access these documents through
related records, see the descriptions for (Road Descriptions) in
series C867 and C868 and (Road Book) in series C872 and C873. For
concurrent and later records, see (Road Record) in series C2307
and C2308.
The Archives will create an electronic finding aid from the
records themselves.