Chapter 3.1. Boundaries of the Commonwealth.

Sec.

§ 1-300. Boundaries.

The territory and boundaries of the Commonwealth shall be and remain the same as they were after the Constitution of Virginia was adopted on June 29, 1776, except for the territory that constitutes West Virginia and its boundaries, and other boundary adjustments as provided in this chapter.

(Code 1950, § 7-1 ; 1966, c. 102, § 7.1-1 ; 2005, c. 839.)

Effective date. - This chapter became effective October 1, 2005.

CASE NOTES

The Code asserts jurisdiction over the Virginia shores and strands of the Potomac, in accordance with the claim in the Virginia Constitution; and it is admitted that these terms include the lands between high and low water mark. Washington Airport, Inc. v. Smoot Sand & Gravel Corp., 44 F.2d 342 (4th Cir. 1930), rev'd, 283 U.S. 348, 51 S. Ct. 474, 75 L. Ed. 1109 (1931) (decided under prior law). The majority opinion in the reversing case, which actually dealt with the boundary line between Virginia and the District of Columbia, declared that the original boundary of Maryland was the high-water mark on the southern bank of the Potomac, and that the compact of 1785 between Maryland and Virginia and the case of Maryland v. West Virginia , 217 U.S. 577, 30 S. Ct. 630, 54 L. Ed. 888 (1910), settling a controversy between those states, could not affect the rights of the District of Columbia. The decision was in effect a holding that the boundary between Virginia and the District of Columbia was the high-water mark on the southern bank of the Potomac. But see dissenting opinion. And see provisions of § 1-312 establishing present boundary between Virginia and the District.

§ 1-301. Extent of territory of the Commonwealth after the Constitution of 1776.

The authorities in determining the extent of the territory of the Commonwealth after the adoption of the Constitution of 1776 shall consist of:

  1. The charter of April 10, 1606, granted by James the First, in the fourth year of his reign, that authorized the first plantation at any place upon the coast of the Commonwealth between the thirty-fourth and forty-first degrees of north latitude; and granted the territory from the seat of the plantation (which under this charter was begun at Jamestown), for 50 miles along the coast towards the west and southwest, as the coast lay, and for 50 miles along the coast, towards the east and northeast, or towards the north, as the coast lay, together with all the islands within 100 miles directly over against the seacoast, and all the territory from the same 50 miles every way on the seacoast, directly into the mainland for the space of 100 miles.
  2. The second charter of James, dated May 23, 1609, in the seventh year of his reign, that granted all the territory from the point of land called Cape or Point Comfort, all along the seacoast to the northward 200 miles, and from the point of Cape Comfort all along the seacoast to the southward 200 miles, and all that space and circuit of land lying from the seacoast of the precinct, up into the land, throughout from sea to sea, west and northwest, and also all the islands lying within 100 miles along the coast of both seas of the precinct aforesaid.
  3. The third charter of James, dated March 12, 1611-12, in the ninth year of his reign, that granted all the islands in any part of the seas within 300 leagues of any territory granted in the former patents.
  4. The 1763 treaty of peace between Great Britain and France that established a line along the middle of the river Mississippi and became the Commonwealth's western boundary.
  5. Section 21 of the Constitution of Virginia adopted June 29, 1776, that ceded, released, and confirmed to the people of Maryland, Pennsylvania, North and South Carolina, such parts of the territory of the Commonwealth as were contained within the charters erecting those colonies, with all the rights in those parts that might have been claimed by the Commonwealth, except the free navigation of the Rivers Potomac and Pocomoke, with the property of the Commonwealth shore or strands bordering on either of the rivers, and all improvements thereon; and that at the same time laid down in the section that the western and northern extent of the Commonwealth should in all other respects stand as fixed by the charter of James the First, granted in 1609, and by the treaty of peace between Great Britain and France in 1763, unless by act of the legislature one or more territories should thereafter be laid off, and governments established, westward of the Alleghany mountains. (Code 1950, § 7-1 ; 1966, c. 102, § 7.1-1 ; 2005, c. 839.)

CASE NOTES

The Code asserts jurisdiction over the Virginia shores and strands of the Potomac, in accordance with the claim in the Virginia Constitution; and it is admitted that these terms include the lands between high and low water mark. Washington Airport, Inc. v. Smoot Sand & Gravel Corp., 44 F.2d 342 (4th Cir. 1930), rev'd, 283 U.S. 348, 51 S. Ct. 474, 75 L. Ed. 1109 (1931) (decided under prior law). The majority opinion in the reversing case, which actually dealt with the boundary line between Virginia and the District of Columbia, declared that the original boundary of Maryland was the high-water mark on the southern bank of the Potomac, and that the compact of 1785 between Maryland and Virginia and the case of Maryland v. West Virginia , 217 U.S. 577, 30 S. Ct. 630, 54 L. Ed. 888 (1910), settling a controversy between those states, could not affect the rights of the District of Columbia. The decision was in effect a holding that the boundary between Virginia and the District of Columbia was the high-water mark on the southern bank of the Potomac. But see dissenting opinion. And see provisions of § 1-312 establishing present boundary between Virginia and the District.

§ 1-302. Jurisdiction and ownership of Commonwealth over offshore waters and submerged lands.

  1. The jurisdiction of the Commonwealth shall extend to and over, and be exercisable with respect to, waters offshore from the coasts of the Commonwealth as follows:
    1. The marginal sea and the high seas to the extent claimed in the Virginia Constitution of 1776 and not thereafter ceded by action of the General Assembly.
    2. All submerged lands, including the subsurface thereof, lying under the waters listed in subdivision 1 of this subsection.
  2. The ownership of the waters and submerged lands enumerated or described in subsection A of this section shall be in the Commonwealth unless it shall be, with respect to any given parcel or area, in any other person or entity by virtue of a valid and effective instrument of conveyance or by operation of law.
  3. Nothing contained herein shall be construed to limit or restrict in any way:
    1. The jurisdiction of the Commonwealth over any person or with respect to any subject within or without the Commonwealth which jurisdiction is exercisable by reason of citizenship, residence, or for any other reason recognized by law.
    2. The jurisdiction or ownership of or over any other waters or submerged lands, within or forming part of the boundaries of the Commonwealth. Nor shall anything in this section be construed to impair the exercise of legislative jurisdiction by the United States over any area to which such jurisdiction has been validly ceded by the Commonwealth and that remains in the ownership of the United States.
  4. Nothing in this section shall alter the geographic area to which any act of the General Assembly applies if the act specifies the area precisely in miles or by some other numerical designation of distance or position. However, nothing in the act or in this section shall be construed as a waiver or relinquishment of jurisdiction or ownership by the Commonwealth over or in any area to which such jurisdiction or ownership extends by virtue of this section or any other provision or rule of law.

    (Code 1950, § 7-1.1; 1960, c. 518; 1966, c. 102, § 7.1-2; 1972, c. 689; 2005, c. 839.)

§ 1-303. Cession of territory northwest of Ohio River.

  1. The territory northwest of the Ohio River ceded by the Commonwealth shall be and remain the same as provided by:
    1. An act of the General Assembly passed on January 2, 1781, that resolved that this Commonwealth would on certain conditions yield for the benefit of the United States all her right to the territory northwest of the Ohio River.
    2. An act of the General Assembly passed on December 20, 1783, that authorized the transfer to the United States, subject to the terms and conditions contained in the act of the United States Congress passed on September 13, 1783 and the deed of cession that was made accordingly.
    3. An act of the General Assembly passed on December 30, 1788, whereby, after referring to an ordinance for the government of the territory, passed by the United States Congress on July 13, 1787, and reciting a particular article declared in the ordinance to be part of the compact between the original states and the people and states in the territory, the article of compact was ratified and confirmed.
  2. Such cession shall be deemed and taken according to the true intent and meaning of the acts and deed, and subject to all the terms and conditions therein expressed.

    (Code 1950, § 7-2; 1966, c. 102, § 7.1-3; 2005, c. 839.)

Editor's note. - For historical purposes, the text of the original acts have been set out in the Compacts volume.

§ 1-304. Boundary with North Carolina.

The boundary line between the Commonwealth and North Carolina shall be and remain the same as the line run by Fry and Jefferson, and afterwards extended by Walker and Smith and approved on December 7, 1791, by an act of the General Assembly.

(Code 1950, § 7-3; 1966, c. 102, § 7.1-4; 2005, c. 839.)

§ 1-305. Boundary with North Carolina eastward from low-water mark of Atlantic Ocean.

The boundary line between the Commonwealth and North Carolina eastward from the low-water mark of the Atlantic Ocean shall be and remains the line beginning at the intersection with the low-water mark of the Atlantic Ocean and the existing North Carolina-Virginia boundary line; thence due east to the seaward jurisdictional limit of Virginia; such boundary line to be extended on the true 90 degree bearing as far as a need for further delimitation may arise.

(1970, c. 343, § 7.1-4.1; 2005, c. 839.)

§ 1-306. Boundary with Tennessee.

The boundary line between the Commonwealth and Tennessee shall be and remain the same as established by the Supreme Court of the United States in the case of Tennessee v. Virginia, 190 U.S. 64 (1903), and the compact between the Commonwealth and Tennessee approved on February 9, 1901, by an act of the General Assembly.

(Code 1950, § 7-4; 1966, c. 102, § 7.1-5; 2005, c. 839.)

§ 1-307. Compact and boundary with Kentucky.

  1. Except such part as may constitute the boundary line between West Virginia and the Commonwealth of Kentucky, the boundary between this Commonwealth and the Commonwealth of Kentucky, shall be and remain as the line approved on January 13, 1800, by an act of the General Assembly.
  2. The articles set forth in the act of separation of the Commonwealth of Kentucky from this Commonwealth adopted by the General Assembly on December 18, 1789, shall be and remain a solemn compact mutually binding on the Commonwealths of Virginia and Kentucky, and unalterable by either without the consent of the other.

    (Code 1950, § 7-5; 1966, c. 102, § 7.1-6; 2005, c. 839.)

Editor's note. - The text of the original acts have been set out in the Compacts volume for historical purposes.

§ 1-308. Boundary with Maryland.

The Black-Jenkins Award, which established the boundary line between the Commonwealth and Maryland and was ratified on March 14, 1878, by an act of the General Assembly shall be and remain obligatory on this Commonwealth and the citizens thereof, and shall be forever observed and kept by the Commonwealth and all of its citizens according to the true intent and meaning of the same, and to that end the faith of the Commonwealth stands pledged.

(Code 1950, § 7-6; 1966, c. 102, § 7.1-7; 2005, c. 839.)

Editor's note. - The text of the original act has been set out in the Compacts volume for historical purposes.

Editor's note. - For cases construing the Maryland-Virginia Compact of 1785, see Hendricks v. Commonwealth, 75 Va. 934 (1882); Wharton v. Wise, 153 U.S. 155, 14 S. Ct. 783, 38 L. Ed. 669 (1894). For text of the 1785 Compact, see the Appendix at the end of the Compacts volume.

CASE NOTES

The Maryland-Virginia Compact of 1785, and the description of boundary lines and rights in the Potomac river contained therein, does not apply to the District of Columbia; when Maryland and Virginia ceded land to the District, they relinquished any joint interest in, and control over, that part of the river located within the District. Consequently, a Virginia resident, fishing from the Virginia shore, was subject to the laws of the District of Columbia when fishing with a dip net in that part of the Potomac river controlled by the District of Columbia. Evans v. United States, 31 App. D.C. 544 (1908).

Maryland has a uniform southern boundary along Virginia and West Virginia at low-water mark on the south bank of the Potomac River to the intersection of the north and south line between Maryland and West Virginia. Maryland v. West Virginia, 217 U.S. 577, 30 S. Ct. 630, 54 L. Ed. 888 (1910). But see Smoot Sand & Gravel Corp. v. Washington Airport, Inc., 283 U.S. 348, 51 S. Ct. 474, 75 L. Ed. 1109 (1931).

Article 4 of the Award precluded regulation by Maryland of Virginia's sovereign riparian rights. - Portion of a binding arbitration award set out at § 7.1-7 [now § 1-308 ], Fourth, clearly established Virginia's dominion over the soil to the low-water mark on the Virginia shore of the Potomac River by prescription, and clearly established Virginia's sovereign riparian right to use the river beyond the low water mark without regulation by Maryland. Virginia v. Maryland, 540 U.S. 56, 124 S. Ct. 598, 157 L. Ed. 2d 461, 2003 U.S. LEXIS 9192 (2003).

Rights granted under Article 7 of the Compact are not subject to regulation by Maryland. - Plain language of § 7.1-7 [now § 1-308 ], Seventh, grants to the citizens of Maryland and Virginia full property rights in the shores of the Potomac River and the privilege of building improvements from the shore and, especially since the scope of Maryland's sovereignty over the river was vigorously disputed both before and after ratification of the interstate compact, there was no grant or recognition of sovereign authority to permit Maryland to regulate the exercise of this privilege by Virginia citizens. Virginia v. Maryland, 540 U.S. 56, 124 S. Ct. 598, 157 L. Ed. 2d 461, 2003 U.S. LEXIS 9192 (2003).

Article 8 of the compact gives Virginia concurrent jurisdiction with Maryland, over the Potomac River from shore to shore, and over that part of the Pocomoke River which is within the limits of Virginia, to enact such laws, with the consent and approval of Maryland, as may be deemed necessary and proper for the preservation of fish in said waters. Hendricks v. Commonwealth, 75 Va. 934 (1882), criticized. Wharton v. Wise, 153 U.S. 155, 14 S. Ct. 783, 38 L. Ed. 669 (1894).

Article 10 of the compact refers only to offenses against the citizen or individual. When the offense is against the state, and not against an individual or citizen, there is no declaration as to the court of which state shall take cognizance of it. Hendricks v. Commonwealth, 75 Va. 934 (1882). And see Wharton v. Wise, 153 U.S. 155, 14 S. Ct. 783, 38 L. Ed. 669 (1894), holding that such article of the compact does not forbid the State of Virginia from trying and convicting citizens of Maryland for offenses committed in Virginia against its laws regulating oyster fisheries.

Mutual rights of fishery. - The provisions of articles 7 and 8 of the compact, which give mutual rights of fishery to the citizens of the two states, refer only to the Potomac River, and do not operate to give such rights in the Pocomoke river and sound. Wharton v. Wise, 153 U.S. 155, 14 S. Ct. 783, 38 L. Ed. 669 (1894), criticizing Hendricks v. Commonwealth, 75 Va. 934 (1882).

Determination of location of murder victim's body. - The exact physical location of a murder victim's body within river constituted a factual question which the jury could appropriately decide. However, the exact location of the boundary between Virginia and Maryland involves an interpretation of this section and represents a legal question outside the jury's province. If it were impossible for the jurors to interpret the evidence concerning the body's exact placement so as to conclude under this section that the body lay in Virginia, the trial court should not have submitted the issue of venue to the jury. Traverso v. Commonwealth, 6 Va. App. 172, 366 S.E.2d 719 (1988).

Where body of murder victim was found six to seven and one-half feet from Virginia shoreline, and the only evidence introduced concerning the low water mark showed that, on the day the body was found, the river level was at the actual low water mark, unless a line could be drawn between two headlands in order to form a new low water mark, the body's placement would have been six to seven and one-half feet beyond the Virginia border. Since victim's body lay six to seven and one-half feet from the Commonwealth of Virginia, venue did not lie in Loudoun County and the appellant's conviction would be reversed. Traverso v. Commonwealth, 6 Va. App. 172, 366 S.E.2d 719 (1988).

§ 1-309. Boundary with Maryland eastward from Assateague Island.

The boundary line between the Commonwealth and Maryland eastward from Assateague Island shall be and remain as follows: Beginning at a point on the Maryland-Virginia line located on Assateague Island designated as station "Pope Island Life Saving Station (1907)" defined by latitude 38 ø 01'36.93" and longitude 75 ø 14'47.105"; thence running N 84 ø 05'43.5" E (true) - 1,100.00 feet to station "Atlantic"; thence due east (true) to the Maryland-Virginia jurisdictional limit.

(1970, c. 342, § 7.1-7.1; 2005, c. 839.)

§ 1-310. Boundary with Maryland in upper reaches of Pocomoke sound and lower reaches of Pocomoke River.

  1. The boundary line between the Commonwealth and Maryland in the previously undescribed portion of the Maryland-Virginia line in the upper reaches of the Pocomoke sound and lower reaches of the Pocomoke River shall be and remain as follows:

    Beginning at a point which is corner D defined by latitude 37 ø 56'28.00" and longitude 75 ø 45'43.56"; which is the last point on the Maryland-Virginia line that was defined by the "joint report of engineers on relocating and remarking Maryland-Virginia boundary line across Tangier and Pocomoke sounds December 1916"; thence running N 73 ø 34'31.9" E about 17,125.11 feet to corner H a point defined by latitude 37 ø 57'115.82" and longitude 75 ø 42'18.48"; thence running N 85 ø 39'33.9" E about 3,785.82 feet to corner J a point defined by latitude 37 ø 57'18.65" and longitude 75 ø 41'31.25"; thence running S 74 ø 16'00.8" E about 7,278.41 feet to corner K a point defined by latitude 37 ø 56'59.13" and longitude 75 ø 40'03.89"; thence running S 61 ø 57'55.7" E about 3,664.73 feet to corner L a point defined by latitude 37 ø 56'42.10" and longitude 75 ø 39'23.51"; thence running N 76 ø 15'24.5" E about 2,263.49 feet to corner M a point defined by latitude 37 ø 56'47.65" and longitude 75 ø 38'54.85"; thence running N 00 ø 49'51.5" W about 7,178.56 feet to corner N a point defined by latitude 37 ø 57'58.61" and longitude 75 ø 38'56.15"; thence northeasterly about 3 1/2 miles following the middle thread of the meandering Pocomoke river to corner P a point defined by latitude 37 ø 59'39.37" and longitude 75 ø 37'26.52", which is at or near the point of intersection with the Scarborough and Calvert boundary line of May 28, 1668; corners N and P are connected by a line running N 35 ø 08'33.5" E about 12,465.32 feet; thence N 83 ø 45'59.9" E about 24,156.95 feet to the boundary monument near triangulation station Davis on the Scarborough and Calvert boundary line of May 28, 1668. Geographic positions are based on 1927 datum.

  2. No vested right of any individual, partnership or corporation within the area affected by this section shall in any wise be impaired, restricted or affected thereby. This section shall not be retrospective in its operation nor shall it in any way affect the rights of any individual, partnership or corporation in any suit now pending in any of the courts of this Commonwealth or of the United States wherein such cause of action arose over, or is in any way based upon, the area affected. This section shall in no wise preclude the Commonwealth from prosecuting any individual, partnership or corporation for violation of any of the criminal laws of this Commonwealth within such area until this section shall become effective.

    (1970, c. 315, § 7.1-7.2; 2005, c. 839.)

§ 1-311. Recession of portion of District of Columbia.

That portion of the District of Columbia which, by an act of the General Assembly, passed December 3, 1789, was ceded to the United States and receded and forever relinquished to this Commonwealth by an act of Congress approved July 9, 1846, and accepted by the Commonwealth by an act of the General Assembly adopted on February 3, 1846, shall be and remain reannexed to this Commonwealth and constitutes a portion thereof, subject to such reservation and provisions respecting the public property of the United States, as the United States Congress has enacted in its act of recession.

(Code 1950, § 7-8; 1966, c. 102, § 7.1-9; 2005, c. 839.)

Editor's note. - The text of the original act has been set out in the Compacts volume for historical purposes.

CASE NOTES

Act making cession of territory. - See Suckley v. Rotchford, 53 Va. (12 Gratt.) 60 (1855) (decided under prior law).

§ 1-312. Boundary with District of Columbia.

The boundary line between the Commonwealth and the District of Columbia shall be and remain as described by the United States Public Law 208, Seventy-Ninth Congress, approved October 31, 1945, and amended by Chapter 772 of the 1968 Acts of Assembly and Chapter 94 of the 2002 Acts of Assembly.

(Code 1950, § 7-9; 1966, c. 102, § 7.1-10; 1968, c. 772; 2002, c. 94; 2005, c. 839.)

CASE NOTES

Virginia has ceded to the United States exclusive jurisdiction over the territory embraced within the Washington National Airport, reserving, however, the power to levy a tax on the sale of oil and gasoline sold on the airport for use in vehicles. This reservation does not include the power to levy taxes for the privilege of doing business on the airport. Hence one whose business is the sale of oil and gasoline there is not properly assessed under Arlington County's business privilege tax ordinance or the state's merchants' license tax, since they are not taxes on the sale of the products. Floyd v. Fischer, 199 Va. 363 , 99 S.E.2d 612 (1957) (decided under prior law).

Under the grant from Virginia to the United States in § 107 of the act of Congress set out in this section, the Commonwealth is presumed to have specifically reserved all taxing rights which it intended to reserve, and the Virginia retail merchants' license tax and the county's business privilege license tax, not having been reserved, are necessarily excluded. Floyd v. Fischer, 199 Va. 363 , 99 S.E.2d 612 (1957) (decided under prior law).

Grant of exclusive jurisdiction over Washington National Airport to the federal government does not exclude all state jurisdiction relating to the federal area. Bartsch v. Washington Metro. Area Transit Comm'n, 357 F.2d 923 (4th Cir. 1966) (decided under prior law).

Virginia law governs employment relationships. - At Washington National Airport, Virginia law governs employment relationships between private employers and their employees. Singleton v. International Ass'n of Machinists, Dist. 141, Local Lodge No. 1747, 240 Va. 403 , 397 S.E.2d 856 (1990) (decided under prior law).

§ 1-313. Boundary line between Loudoun County, Virginia, and Jefferson County, West Virginia.

  1. The boundary line between Loudoun County, Virginia, and Jefferson County, West Virginia shall be the watershed line of the top of the ridge of the Blue Ridge Mountains as established by the survey approved by the Commission on April 29, 1997, and recorded in the land books in the courthouses of Loudoun County, Virginia, and Jefferson County, West Virginia.
  2. No vested right of any individual, partnership, or corporation within the territory affected by this act shall in any wise be impaired, restricted, or affected by this act. This act shall not be retrospective in its operation nor shall it in any way affect the rights of any individual, partnership, or corporation in any suit now pending in any of the courts of this Commonwealth or of the United States wherein the cause of action arose over, or is in any way based upon, the territory affected.

    (1993, c. 141, § 7.1-10.1; 1998, c. 123; 2005, c. 839.)