Williams v. Natural Bridge Plank Road Co.
Supreme Court of Missouri
Error to St'. Louis Land Courts This was an action by the plaintiffs, some of whom appeared by their mother, as their natural guardian, to recover damages-caused by the construction, by the defendant, (a company incorporated'under the act of February 27, 1851,) of a plank road.
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Error to St'. Louis Land Courts This was an action by the plaintiffs, some of whom appeared by their mother, as their natural guardian, to recover damages-caused by the construction, by the defendant, (a company incorporated'under the act of February 27, 1851,) of a plank road. The said’plank road was located by the said company;,, with the consent of the county court of St. Louis county, over and upon- a county road of said county which ran over the land of the plaintiffs, and had been used as a public highway’for more than twenty years before the commencement of the said plank road. There…
1Opinion of the CourtScott, Judge
It is an error to suppose that the land over which a public road passes belongs to the state or county. The law, for the convenience of the community, has appropriated portions of the lands of individuals to be used as public roads or highways. Subject to this use or easement of the public, the soil over which the road passes remains in the owner, in the same manner as though no appropriation of it had been made. When the land of an individual is taken for a road, whether he gives it voluntarily or sells a right of way over it by claiming and receiving compensation, he must be understood as…
2Cases cited1 opinion
- People v. GrayNew York Supreme Court · 1841
3Cited by13 opinions
- Lake Erie & Western Railway Co. v. KinseyIndiana Supreme Court · 1882
- Hastings & Grand Island R. R. v. IngallsNebraska Supreme Court · 1883
- Portland & Willamette Valley R. R. v. City of PortlandOregon Supreme Court · 1886
- Mean v. CallisonSupreme Court of Oklahoma · 1911
- Sikes v. St. Louis & San Francisco RailroadMissouri Court of Appeals · 1907
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