Original boundary stone for Doughoregan, Pushpin and Girls Portion

THE BEGINNING

TREES OF DOOH

REGAN PUSHPIN

AND THE GIRLS

PORTION

                 1773

On the Rushlight Path (street in Columbia, MD) cul-de-sac, hidden in a small group of bushes and trees amid the subdivision houses, is a fenced-in Doughoregan Manor boundary stone.  The plaque states that the complete boundary stone probably read “There stand the beginning trees of Doorhegan, Pushpin, and the Girls Portion – 1773”

The plaque continues:

"It marks the intersection of the boundaries of these three properties which were owned by the Carroll, Michael Dorsey and Eli [or Ely] Dorsey families, respectively, and was erected by Michael Dorsey II and his neighbors. Doughoregan Manor was the home of Charles Carroll of Carrollton, signer of the Declaration of Independence."

From the source -

HO-1089   Md Historical Trust Inventory of Historic Properties

"The Doughoregan-Pushpin-Girls Portion Boundary Marker locates the intersection of the southwest 

comer  of the  land patent "Pushpin", the northwest  comer of the patent  "Girls Portion,  and a point  on the east boundary  of the patent "Doughoregan"  (originally  spelled Doohregan).  The tract "Pushpin" was patented first, by John Jones in 1700, and was 200 acres.  Two  years  later Charles Carroll the  Settler  patented  "Doughoregan",  which was  7000 acres, and  in  1703 Richard  Ketlin patented  "Girls Portion", which was  100 acres.  All three parcels were rectangular. 

It was not unusual that the original boundary markers were trees and when they died the stumps were used, until it became necessary for the neighboring property owners to agree to the location of the lost boundary and replace it, often with a stone.  That is apparently what happened with this common point of the three tracts.  Often  a boundary agreement  would be recorded  amongst  the deeds, but no such agreement  was found  for this marker, suggesting that  the original  trees that  are noted  on the stone were  still  identifiable  when the stone was placed  in  1773.

Stone boundary markers such as this one would have been common elements of the landscape and ones that would have been pointed out to sons as they walked the fields with their fathers, in order to know the boundaries of their property.   Most of these stones seem to have disappeared over the course of development in Howard County, but this one was preserved and is owned by the Columbia Association."

More on Doughoregan HERE

©2016 Patricia Bixler Reber
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