Analysis. Location of McCormicks Fort on the Conodoguinet

Contents 1 Related 2 Land Records 3 Data

Welcome to the Old Chester Tapestry ……………………..The Tapestry Families Old Chester OldAugusta Germanna New River SWVP Cumberland Carolina Cradle The Smokies Old Kentucky

Old Chester Tapestry Data Maps Library History Culture Index

Related

Person:William Walker (186)

Land Records

The following land warrants were issued in Cumberland County (or its predecessor, Lancaster County) between 1745 and 1762, to persons with the last name of "McCormick". Presumably "McCormick's Fort" on Conodoguinet Creek was on one of these parcels.

Some of these warrants, such as that for William and Thomas McCormick, lay in what is now Juanita County, and can be excluded from consideration. Others' such as a warrant issued to Alexander McCormick, are too late (1762) to have been the site of McCormicks Fort. ^[1]

More likely candidates include Samuel McCormick who secured a land warrant on the north bank of the lower Conodoguinet (East Pennsboro) in 1750, and James McCormick who secured a land warrant about the same time in Lurgan Township in what is now Franklin County. There may be other McCormicks on the Conodoguinet during this time period who are not known to have secured land warrants but who nonetheless acquired land. For example, a John McCormick, believed to be the brother of Samuel, is shown on several survey maps for other settlers, with property adjacent to Samuel McCormick on the Lower Condoguinet. There may have been others, as well, and further searches of the records may yield the identities of other candidates.

In the meantime Samuel and John McCormick on the Lower Condodoguinet, and James McCormick on the Upper Conodoguinet represent the best candidates for the settler on whose land "McCormicks Fort was built. This analysis focuses primarily on the land of Samuel and John McCormick as a possible site for McCormicks Fort. (Work in Progress: Additional work is needed to evaluate the potential for James McCormick's land on the Upper Conodoguinet.)

This map shows a the combined survey maps issued to various settlers in this area. Property boundaries are approximate, and show some scaling issues that are inherent in the original survey maps. (Note the variation in width of the Conodoguinet. The property boundaries as shown here have been scaled so that the areas shown are comparable, and to give the best property boundary alignments. Some of the parcels have been slightly rotated to improve alignment. The land of Samuel McCormick is shown in light yellow. The boundaries of John McCormicks land are known only where they touch that of adjacent property owners, as no survey map has been identified for him. The land of John Harris is shown in light green. The presence of the "Lazy W" oxbow in the Conodoguinet stream course helps localize this area to a particular section of the Conodoguinet. (See Map Below). Note the presence of the land of William Walker on the south side of the Conodoguinet. We know that a William Walker was killed by Indians at McCormicks Fort in 1757. The presence of property owned by William Walker in the immediate area where John and Samuel McCormick owned land is strong presumptive evidence that McCormicks Fort was in this immediate area.

Overall location map for the McCormick land holdings on Lower Conodoguinet Creek.

Data